IGERT: Offshore Wind Energy Engineering, Environmental Science, and Policy

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This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award will establish the first interdisciplinary doctoral training program in the United States that directly addresses the interface between engineering, environmental science, and policy as it relates to renewable energy. Offshore wind energy is a promising solution to many of the world?s looming energy problems, yet the installation of new wind projects faces numerous barriers. This project addresses these barriers by focusing on the intersection of three key challenges: 1) engineering offshore wind energy systems; 2) mitigating environmental impacts; and 3) incorporating economic, social, and policy concerns into design for public acceptance, grounded in a philosophy of stakeholder engagement and equity. Intellectual Merit: Key features of the program include: novel interdisciplinary research; shared coursework; an innovative real-time case study of the design, evaluation, and implementation of an offshore wind installation; the use of studios in which interdisciplinary teams work interactively to address real issues in the case study; and research experiences at leading international offshore wind energy institutions. The IGERT will recruit student participants using a multi-tiered approach with particular attention to strong participation by under-represented students. Broader Impacts: The shared experience of the students in the program is designed to provide the intellectual flexibility, cross-disciplinary training and professional skills necessary to move the science, engineering, and development of wind energy forward, leading to the creation of renewable energy projects that are technically and environmentally sound while also being suited to neighboring communities. 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.