Fund Sparks Alternative Energy Research
In an engineering design class he took with Professor Percy Hill, Peter Wittich, E83 learned one of the most valuable lessons of his college career. "Professor Hill used to say that you could design anything to solve any problem," recalls Wittich of the late professor, chair of engineering design, and inventor of the Reach® toothbrush.
l-r: Courtney, Jenna, Peter, Denise, Sabrina and William Wittich
Inspired by Hill’s faith in the power of problem solving, Wittich maintains a solution can be found to the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. He also believes the Tufts School of Engineering can play a role in finding it. Through the Peter and Denise Wittich Family Fund for Alternative Energy Research, Wittich aims to support research efforts that will lead to the discovery of new, more sustainable ways of producing and using energy.
"Tufts is uniquely suited to help find these new solutions because, first and foremost, it recognizes that there is a problem," says Wittich. "Secondly, Tufts has already established itself as a center of engineering excellence, and third, thanks to the leadership of Dean Abriola, the school is committed to addressing the problem early rather than when it’s too late."
The collaborative nature of the engineering research under way at Tufts, combined with the policy expertise available at the Fletcher School, also are major assets, according to Wittich.
Wittich also sees the Fletcher School as an ideal forum to analyze the risk of allowing potentially hostile governments to control the nation’s strategic energy supplies, and the implications of exporting the massive amount of dollars needed to acquire those supplies. Wittich's concern is that the oil economy, which has fueled the nation’s prosperity during the past generation, may be vulnerable to an oil shock. By preparing alternate supplies and improving efficiencies now, Wittich maintains, such a shock can be weathered, potentially with a better standard of living.
Wittich has had global experience in the oil world, as he has been an oil trader for the past 24 years since he left Tufts University. Once he spent two days in a South American jail, but that, he says, is a story for another day!
Through the purchase of new equipment and the provision of salary support for research fellow and technical assistants, the fund will strengthen the research infrastructure upon which new technologies can be built. "Supporting research into renewable energy technologies is key to the development of sustainable energy policies and programs," says Dean Linda Abriola. "The Peter and Denise Wittich Family Fund will foster greater collaboration among faculty from around the university that has the potential to lead to major advances in the field."
As parents of four children aged seven to 14, the Wittiches also have a personal reason for wanting to encourage faster progress towards energy sustainability. "We want to make the world a better place for our children and keep the planet as green as possible," says Denise Wittich. "That will require reducing both our fuel consumption and our reliance on oil as a major source of energy."
Peter Wittich adds that as economic growth in developing countries continues to accelerate, the pressure on existing energy sources will only increase. "Leadership by universities such as Tufts can help us develop the alternative systems needed for greater environmental sustainability," he says.
