NRT-DESE: Data Intensive Research Enabling Clean Technologies (DIRECT)

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Discovering new materials that will generate and store renewable energy in a low cost, environmentally benign, and scalable fashion is perhaps the most important technological challenge facing society today. All phases of this scientific process (design, synthesis, and characterization) are routinely stymied by the same challenge: researchers are not equipped to handle the deluge of data coming from our labs and high performance computers. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of Washington will create, test and evaluate a new training model for graduate students in the area of data intensive research in materials for clean energy. The University of Washington program, DIRECT: Data Intensive Research Enabling Clean Technologies, addresses these challenges by training a new generation of energy researchers who are equipped to handle the massive data sets arising from all stages of materials discovery. This project anticipates 72 trainees (18 MS and 54 PhD students), including 16 funded trainees, from Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science & Engineering, Molecular Engineering and Human Centered Design & Engineering. DIRECT creates a new training modality comprised of three phases: 1) new graduate coursework at the nexus of data science and advanced materials for energy, 2) a project-based learning scheme to apply new skills and work on challenging real world problems in a team-based setting, and 3) capstone experiences that leverage broad networks spanning industry, national labs and several international partners. The thematic focus of the research is next-generation materials for batteries and photovoltaics. We will use an ethnographic approach rooted in the social sciences to understand why some methods are successfully deployed while others are not, and learn how to apply data science tools in a contextualized manner to materials science to maximize usability. The project-based learning component of the traineeship will provide graduate students the chance to teach and practice leadership and management skills, a unique opportunity most trainees would not otherwise receive. DIRECT trainees will be equipped for many new career options that require data science training and will be prepared with the skills needed to thrive in the economy of the 21st century. The project will also provide unique information about the effectiveness of project-based learning in the acquisition of advanced technical skills and disciplinary knowledge in graduate education.The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The Traineeship Track is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through the comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.