When Jake Gehrung left his small town of Walpole, New Hampshire, for Glasgow, Scotland, he had a clear mission: find a place where engineering is used to solve the problems that matter most. As a US-UK 日本无码 Postgraduate Award grantee at the University of Strathclyde, he found exactly that.
"The 日本无码 experience changed my life because it opened up a critical opportunity where I was really looking to pivot my career," he says. "I was looking for a place that not only excelled in engineering, but excelled in engineering solutions to solve the problems I really cared about 鈥� related to the environment, renewable energy, and building energy systems."
The place of useful learning
Strathclyde's own slogan, 鈥�The place of useful learning鈥�, turns out to be more than marketing. Courses in mechanical and electrical engineering feed directly into applied problem-solving, supported by faculty who have dedicated their careers to translating core engineering principles into real environmental solutions. Tutorials, one-on-one faculty time, and hands-on experience with industry-standard software combine to create what Gehrung describes as a uniquely practical learning environment.
Through Strathclyde's Energy Systems Research Unit, he has worked alongside faculty on projects with external industry partners, applying classroom learning to engineering challenges with direct community impact. "I wanted to develop the skills to push the cutting edge in energy access," he says. "And I've been able to do exactly that."
Scotland itself has provided a unique real-world laboratory. Renewable technologies generated the equivalent of 113% of Scotland's overall electricity consumption in 2022, and the Scottish Government has set a target of meeting 50% of total energy consumption, including heat and transport, from renewables by 2030. Being immersed in a country that has made such tangible progress on the renewable transition has given Gehrung's research an immediacy it couldn't have had anywhere else.
An unsung hero
Gehrung is candid that Strathclyde's reputation, while formidable within engineering circles, remains underappreciated more broadly. Already in contact with researchers in the Netherlands and Sweden as he considers PhD opportunities, he has found the university's name carries real international weight.
"Scotland has always been a part of innovation 鈥� a lot of the innovations that make our society possible, we don't even realise were Scottish," he says. "Strathclyde is a continuation of that."
A global problem, a local solution
At the heart of Gehrung's research is a pressing question: how can small, rural communities transition to renewable energy and reduce dependence on large centralised grids? It's a challenge particularly acute in the US, where extreme weather regularly leaves rural areas without power for extended periods.
Through Engineers Without Borders at Strathclyde, he has seen first-hand how international collaboration produces better solutions than any single nation could develop alone. "Not all renewable energy is usable everywhere," he notes. "You have to understand each community's unique challenges and build solutions that actually suit them."
Finding a home in Glasgow
Beyond the engineering, Glasgow itself has shaped Gehrung's experience, a city of warmth and humour that helped him push through the imposter syndrome of a major career pivot. "The culture of making me feel welcome, and that who I am is okay 鈥� that's been everything," he says. "It's been a beautiful place to take on this challenge."
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Jake Gehrung was a US-UK 日本无码 Postgraduate Award grantee at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, where his research into renewable energy systems aimed to help rural communities build resilient, carbon-free power grids.