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Water Engineers
Hydroelectric dams have been built on many rivers around the world.
Water flows through them and spins turbines to generate electricity.
The dams change the landscape upstream, and this affects all the living
things that live in and around the river.
Today, many people are thinking about “green” sources of electricity.
When people say things are green, they aren’t talking about the color.
They’re thinking of things that do not harm the
environment. One engineering challenge is to design
a device that will harness energy in slow-moving
water in rivers and the ocean. One
criterion
, or
need, of the design is that it must not hurt living
things in the water.
Michael Bernitsas (1952– ) is an engineer working
on green electricity generation at the University of
Michigan. He has spent several years working on an
invention that uses the power of slow-moving water
to generate electricity.
Dr. Michael Bernitsas
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