IGERT: A New PhD Program in Wind Energy Science, Engineering and Policy

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This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports the development of a new multidisciplinary, multi-institutional graduate training program of education and research in Wind Energy Science, Engineering and Policy (WESEP), at Iowa State University, in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez. The purpose of this program is to provide doctoral students with multidisciplinary training in the skills required for conducting research at the disciplinary interface between engineering, atmospheric science/meteorology, agriculture/economics, and journalism/communication. Intellectual Merit: The thematic basis is that mitigating global climate change requires energy system transformation to reduce greenhouse gases from the electric sector; wind energy must play a central role in this, which will occur only through interdisciplinary leadership in advancing pertinent science, engineering, technology and policy. The vision is to strengthen the nation?s wind energy resources by producing technical experts, effective communicators, and ethical decision-makers who lead the U.S. transformation to a high-wind energy portfolio. The research will increase wind energy growth rate, decreasing its cost, and extend its penetration limits. Our education program includes a 3-6 month industry internship, a 3-month international experience, and a 3-level curriculum to provide breadth, interdisciplinary research strength, and advanced training and depth in WESEP. Trainees and faculty will experience the full research cycle every semester via participation in our real-time research collaborative. We will ensure that 30% of our IGERT student population is from underrepresented groups. Broader Impacts: This project will have near- and long-term impact on increasing supply of cost-effective clean energy, fundamental engineering and science, and energy policy. 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.