IGERT: Nanostructured Solar Cells: Materials, Processes and Devices

这个综合性研究生教育和研究培训(IGERT)项目开发了一个新颖的多学科合作项目，涉及南达科他州大学、南达科他州州立大学、南达科他州矿业与技术学院和国家可再生能源实验室(NREL)的国家光伏中心。参与的学生将在化学、材料工程和电气工程方面的广泛学术培训的基础上，致力于下一代太阳能设备的开发。学生的研究机会包括在合作机构之间进行更多的研究轮换，以及在NREL和太阳能行业的实习。该课程的目标是培养学生在教育、研究和发展以及科学政策制定方面发挥领导作用。为了实现这一目标，该课程将包括研究伦理、公共沟通和教育推广方面的正式培训。南达科他州IGERT将在至关重要的可再生能源领域培养一支技术队伍，并在通过跨学科合作方法解决大规模问题的文化中培养受过广泛培训的科学领袖。IGERT将通过与本科生研究体验网站的互动、与北部平原本科生研究中心的互动以及与新格列斯卡大学的合作，招收和留住在科学和工程领域代表性较低的群体中的学生。IGERT是一个NSF范围内的项目，旨在应对培养具有跨学科背景、所选学科的深厚知识以及满足未来职业需求所需的技术、专业和个人技能的美国博士科学家和工程师的挑战。该项目旨在通过建立创新的研究生教育和培训新模式，在超越传统学科界限的合作研究的肥沃环境中，催化研究生教育的文化变革。

This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) project develops a novel, collaborative multidisciplinary program involving The University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and the National Center for Photovoltaics at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Participating students will work toward the development of the next generation of solar energy devices, based on a broad background of academic training in chemistry, materials engineering, and electrical engineering. Student research opportunities include extended research rotations among the collaborating institutions and internships at NREL and in the solar energy industry. The goal of this program is to prepare students for leadership roles in education, research and development, and science-policy formulation. Reflecting this goal, the curriculum will include formal training in research ethics, public communication, and educational outreach. The South Dakota IGERT will produce a technical workforce in the critically important area of renewable energy and develop science leaders who are broadly trained within a culture of solving large-scale problems through an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach. This IGERT will recruit and retain students in groups underrepresented in science and engineering through interactions with a site for Research Experiences for Undergraduates, interactions with the Northern Plains Undergraduate Research Center, and though a partnership with Sinte Gleska University. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.