Casey Nichols

Casey Nichols is a Researcher in Mechanical Engineering at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), specializing in embedded systems for marine renewable energy validation and automated wind blade manufacturing within the Center for Energy Conversion and Storage Systems.

Education:

• Master of Applied Energy and Electromechanical Systems, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Technology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Research Focus: Nichols develops embedded testing systems for ocean energy devices through the MODAQ (Modular Ocean Data Acquisition) project using LabVIEW and compact RIO controllers. Research spans marine renewable energy system validation, automated composites manufacturing, and wind turbine blade production, with emphasis on field-deployable instrumentation and robotic fabrication techniques.

Publication Trends: Recent work (2021-2025) shows concentrated activity in marine energy validation (wave/tidal) and wind manufacturing automation. Key themes include cost-effective data acquisition, structural health monitoring of energy devices, and additive manufacturing integration for composite components.

Research Infrastructure: Active in NREL's Center for Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, Nichols develops the MODAQ platform for ocean energy testing while collaborating on wind blade automation projects involving robotic finishing systems and toolpath optimization.