RET Site: Collaborative Research: Sonoran Photovoltaics Laboratory: Energizing the STEM Pipeline through Citizen Science

RET 网站：合作研究：索诺兰光伏实验室：通过公民科学为 STEM 管道注入活力

• 批准号: 2055395
• 负责人: Kelly Potter
• 金额: $ 20.7万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-11-01 至 2024-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2055395&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RET; Site; Collaborative; Research; Sonoran

Advancing solutions to sustainable energy transitions, creating an informed citizenry, and building a highly skilled STEM workforce are all elements of successful energy system transitions for rural and urban communities. Addressing this grand challenge requires significant and balanced investments in solar energy research and education alike. Arizona State University and the University of Arizona will partner to create the Sonoran Photovoltaics Laboratory (SPV Lab) in order to inspire and enable educators. SPV Lab will promote the progress of science and engineering through this Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Site which will position teachers to advance the energy revolution in two ways. First, they will directly contribute to research efforts that increase photovoltaic (PV) performance and resiliency. Second, these educators will develop and provide educational opportunities about solar energy that, in turn, inspire and enable the next generation of researchers and knowledgeable citizens. In relation to research and education, SPV Lab will also (a) broaden participation by students from racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented in engineering by engaging them in meaningful STEM learning; (b) create a sustainable, scalable model of teaching-learning focused on educating students’ understanding of the world’s current energy situation and associated socio-technical challenges; (c) build prototypes for standardized PV products implementable in diverse educational settings and data platforms sharable across school sites; and (d) foster university, school, and industry partnerships to support and expand K-12 education in photovoltaic systems. Together, these activities create a pathway to expand equitable and sustainable access to solar energy. Energy security remains a national priority, and the Sonoran Photovoltaics Laboratory (SPV Lab) RET aims to contribute to a national energy transition by increasing PV performance and educating the next generation of energy researchers and knowledgeable citizens, thereby creating a pathway to expand equitable and sustainable access to solar energy and to STEM education and career pathways. The SPV Lab RET will organize a regional approach to create an interconnected set of site-specific and use-inspired photovoltaic (PV) research projects for 4th-12th grade STEM teachers located in the Sonoran Desert region of the United States. SPV Lab faculty and graduate students will partner with teachers to sustain and spread PV research experiences to schools serving racial and ethnic minoritized students using shared PV data platforms and teacher-developed curriculum modules that engage students in PV citizen science. Each summer’s RET will begin with a 1-week, cohort orientation and PV bootcamp, followed by 5-week participation in integrated research projects at one of three laboratory site hosts: ASU’s Solar Power Lab (SPL), UA’s AzRISE/TEP PV test yard, and the agrivoltaics research center at Biosphere 2. The SPV program will embed teachers in research projects that seek to better monitor, characterize, predict, or optimize the performance of PV. These concerted research experiences will directly engage teachers in research with the potential to critically impact local investment in renewable energy generation. Video-conferencing will enable cross-site industry webinars and virtual lab tours, pedagogical workshops, and co-development of curriculum modules that transfer research to the classroom using a Citizen Science model. Modules will be shared broadly (open source) at an annual mid-year professional development workshop, at professional conferences, and on a project website. Faculty, students, and industry partners will mentor teachers and students across the year, helping them contribute to research and develop related community energy engineering projects that demonstrate the social value of improving PV performance for their local neighborhoods. The SPV Lab will: (a) advance the science, technology and sustainability of PV through research projects in which teachers participate, (b) function as a pilot for a sustainable, scalable model of teacher professional development in PV engineering education, and (c) foster a culture of citizen science in which student are active contributors to PV engineering research promoting critical, connected and collective engagement using theories and practices that support transformative learning.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

推进可持续能源转型的解决方案，创造知情的公民，建立一支高技能的STEM劳动力队伍，是农村和城市社区成功实现能源系统转型的所有要素。应对这一巨大挑战需要在太阳能研究和教育方面进行大量和平衡的投资。亚利桑那州州立大学和亚利桑那大学将合作创建索诺兰光化学实验室（SPV实验室），以激励和促进教育工作者。SPV实验室将通过教师研究经验（RET）网站促进科学和工程的进步，该网站将使教师以两种方式推进能源革命。首先，它们将直接有助于提高光伏（PV）性能和弹性的研究工作。其次，这些教育工作者将开发和提供有关太阳能的教育机会，从而激励和培养下一代研究人员和知识渊博的公民。在研究和教育方面，SPV实验室还将：（a）通过让工程领域代表性不足的少数种族和族裔学生参与有意义的STEM学习，扩大他们的参与;（B）创建一个可持续、可扩展的教学模式，重点是教育学生了解世界当前的能源形势和相关的社会技术挑战;（c）建立可在不同教育环境中实施的标准化光伏产品原型和可在学校之间共享的数据平台;以及（d）促进大学、学校和行业的伙伴关系，以支持和扩大K-12光伏系统教育。这些活动共同为扩大公平和可持续地获得太阳能开辟了道路。能源安全仍然是国家的优先事项，索诺兰光伏实验室（SPV实验室）RET旨在通过提高光伏性能和教育下一代能源研究人员和知识渊博的公民，从而为扩大公平和可持续的太阳能获取以及STEM教育和职业途径创造一条途径，为国家能源转型做出贡献。SPV实验室RET将组织一种区域方法，为位于美国索诺兰沙漠地区的4 - 12年级STEM教师创建一套相互关联的特定地点和使用启发的光伏（PV）研究项目。SPV实验室的教师和研究生将与教师合作，利用共享的光伏数据平台和教师开发的课程模块，让学生参与光伏公民科学，将光伏研究经验推广到为种族和少数民族学生服务的学校。 每年夏天的RET将开始1周，队列方向和光伏训练营，随后在三个实验室现场主机之一的综合研究项目的参与5周：亚利桑那州立大学的太阳能实验室（SPL），UA的AzRISE/TEP光伏测试场，以及生物圈2号的农业研究中心。SPV计划将教师嵌入研究项目，以更好地监测，表征，预测或优化PV的性能。这些协调一致的研究经验将直接使教师参与研究，有可能对当地可再生能源发电投资产生重大影响。视频会议将使跨站点的行业网络研讨会和虚拟实验室图尔斯之旅，教学研讨会，并共同开发课程模块，使用公民科学模型将研究转移到课堂。模块将在年度年中专业发展研讨会、专业会议和项目网站上广泛共享（开源）。教师，学生和行业合作伙伴将指导教师和学生全年，帮助他们为研究和开发相关的社区能源工程项目做出贡献，这些项目展示了改善当地社区光伏性能的社会价值。SPV实验室将：（a）通过教师参与的研究项目，推进光伏的科学、技术和可持续性，（B）作为光伏工程教育中教师专业发展的可持续、可扩展模式的试点，（c）培养公民科学文化，使学生成为光伏工程研究的积极贡献者，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。