NRT - Stakeholder Engaged Equitable Decarbonized Energy Futures

煤、汽油和柴油等碳基能源会导致温室气体排放，而温室气体排放是气候变化的主要原因。减少化石燃料发电造成的危害的努力包括可再生技术解决方案和政策变化。然而，许多解决方案都很昂贵，而且获得这些解决方案的机会也不平等。低收入群体在能源上的支出历来不成比例，由于能源技术和方案的部署不均衡，未来可能面临额外的经济负担。开发新的清洁能源解决方案并找到低成本和公平的方式来实现这些解决方案，需要一支受过培训的劳动力队伍来创新非碳能源解决方案，并将其与基础设施和政策相结合，以便公平地分享环境，经济和健康利益。未来的劳动力将需要与社区合作，定制能源解决方案以满足需求;与行业，政策组织和政府机构的利益相关者进行有效沟通;并确保受影响社区对清洁能源解决方案的环境，经济和健康影响的认识。这个国家科学基金会研究培训（NRT）奖利哈伊大学将建立一个计划，通过工程，政策，经济学，环境科学，数据科学和人口健康的跨学科培训，培养一批新的能源工作者，他们具有开发和提供清洁，公平的能源解决方案所需的技能。该项目预计培训64名学员，包括24名受资助的博士。培训生和另外40名研究生谁将参加证书课程，并参加研究项目。这个NRT计划将创新博士的培养。和硕士的学生通过利益相关者的参与，公平的考虑，和跨学科的先驱有影响力的解决方案，同时开发在学术界，工业界，政府机构和政策组织的能源部门领导的关键技能。这将通过七个新颖的项目支柱来实现：（1）关于利益相关者参与的课程，最终是由学生主导的年度利益相关者研讨会;（2）关于技术道德和公平的必修课程;（3）多学科工程、政策、环境科学、经济学和人口健康研究生课程和证书计划;（4）参与跨学科研究团队，以公平能源脱碳中的本地但普遍相关的主题为目标，并要求将技术，政策和利益相关者联系起来的论文贡献;（5）所需的基于非营利组织的实习;（6）社区建设，在更广泛的学生群体中扩大项目的视野;以及（7）专业发展和领导研讨会系列，向学生介绍能源行业的各种角色。该计划的成果将通过在满足确定的学习目标，受训人员的劳动力准备，以及招聘和留住学生和解决能源部门的劳动力多样性的能力的有效性来衡量。NSF研究培训（NRT）计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的，新的潜在变革性的STEM研究生教育培训模式。该计划致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求相一致的综合培训模式，在高优先级的跨学科或融合研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Carbon-based energy sources like coal, gasoline, and diesel contribute to greenhouse gas emissions which are a leading cause of climate change. Efforts to reduce the harm caused by fossil fuel energy generation include renewable technology solutions and policy changes. However, many solutions are expensive, and access to them is unequal. Low-income groups have historically spent a disproportionate amount of their income on energy and may face additional economic burden in the future due to uneven deployment of energy technologies and programs. Developing new clean energy solutions and finding low-cost and equitable ways to deliver them will require a workforce trained to innovate non-carbon energy solutions and integrate them with infrastructures and policies so that environmental, economic, and health benefits can be equitably shared. This future workforce will need to engage with communities to tailor energy solutions to address needs; communicate effectively with stakeholders from industry, policy organizations, and government agencies; and ensure awareness of the environmental, economic, and health implications of clean energy solutions among impacted communities. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to Lehigh University will establish a program to train a new class of energy workers with the skills needed for developing and delivering clean, equitable energy solutions via interdisciplinary training in engineering, policy, economics, environmental science, data science, and population health. The project anticipates training 64 trainees, including 24 funded Ph.D. trainees and an additional 40 graduate students who will enroll in certificate programs and participate in research projects.This NRT Program will innovate the training of Ph.D. and Master’s students through stakeholder engagement, equity considerations, and interdisciplinarity to pioneer impactful solutions while developing key skills for energy sector leadership in academia, industry, government agencies, and policy organizations. This will be accomplished through seven novel program pillars: (1) coursework on stakeholder engagement that culminates in an annual student-led stakeholder workshop; (2) a required course on ethics and equity in technology; (3) a multidisciplinary engineering, policy, environmental science, economics, and population health graduate coursework and certificate program; (4) participation in interdisciplinary research teams that target locally based but universally-relevant topics in equitable energy decarbonization and require thesis contributions connecting technology, policy, and stakeholders; (5) required stakeholder-based internships; (6) community building to amplify the project’s vision among a broader student population; and (7) professional development and leadership seminar series to introduce students to a wide range of roles in the energy sector. Program outcomes will be measured by the efficacy in meeting identified learning objectives, workforce preparedness of trainees, and ability to recruit and retain students and address workforce diversity in the energy sector.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 program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.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.