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

推进可持续能源转型的解决方案，创造见多识广的公民群体，建设一支高技能的STEM劳动力队伍，这些都是农村和城市社区成功实现能源系统转型的要素。应对这一重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。亚利桑那州立大学和亚利桑那大学将合作创建索诺兰光伏实验室(SPV Lab)，以激励和支持教育工作者。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，该网站将从两个方面定位教师推动能源革命。首先，他们将直接为提高光伏(PV)性能和弹性的研究工作做出贡献。其次，这些教育工作者将发展和提供有关太阳能的教育机会，进而激励和支持下一代研究人员和有知识的公民。在研究和教育方面，SPV实验室还将：(A)通过让工程学方面的少数族裔学生参与有意义的STEM学习，扩大他们的参与；(B)创建一种可持续、可扩展的教与学模式，重点是使学生了解世界当前的能源形势和相关的社会技术挑战；(C)建立标准化的光伏产品原型，使其能够在不同的教育环境和学校现场共享的数据平台上实施；以及(D)促进大学、学校和行业的合作伙伴关系，以支持和扩大K-12光伏系统的教育。这些活动共同创造了一条扩大公平和可持续利用太阳能的途径。能源安全仍然是国家的优先事项，索诺兰光伏实验室(SPV Lab)RET旨在通过提高光伏性能和教育下一代能源研究人员和有知识的公民，为国家能源转型做出贡献，从而创造一条途径，扩大公平和可持续地获得太阳能以及STEM教育和职业道路。SPV Lab RET将组织一种地区性方法，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受使用启发的光伏(PV)研究项目。SPV实验室的教职员工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，从而维持和传播光伏研究经验给服务于种族和民族小规模学生的学校。每年夏天的RET将从为期一周的队列定向和光伏训练营开始，然后在三个实验室地点之一的为期五周的综合研究项目中参与：亚利桑那州立大学的太阳能实验室(SPL)、亚利桑那大学的AzRISE/TEP光伏试验场和生物圈2号的农业光伏研究中心。SPV计划将让教师参与寻求更好地监测、表征、预测或优化光伏性能的研究项目。这些协调一致的研究经验将直接让教师参与研究，有可能对当地对可再生能源发电的投资产生重大影响。视频会议将支持跨站点行业网络研讨会和虚拟实验室之旅、教学研讨会，以及共同开发课程模块，使用公民科学模式将研究转移到课堂。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(开放源码)共享。教师、学生和行业合作伙伴将在全年指导教师和学生，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促进光伏的科学、技术和可持续性；(B)作为光伏工程教育中可持续、可扩展的教师专业发展模式的试点；以及(C)培养公民科学文化，其中学生是光伏工程研究的积极贡献者，通过支持变革学习的理论和实践促进关键、关联和集体参与。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.