RET Site: Next-generation Clean Energy Sources and Storage

由于气候变化、供应短缺，以及扩大获得电力的机会和提高能源系统韧性的动力，对环境友好、高效、可持续和负担得起的新型可再生能源(RESS)和储能设备(ESD)的需求越来越大。与此同时，由于科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)领域的学生入学人数不足，全国和全州都迫切需要受过教育的科学家和工程师产生新的想法和技术。因此，教师研究体验(RET)网站项目的主要目标是(1)让初中和高中的科学教师沉浸在实践研究体验中；(2)在中学生中促进这一领域的发现和创新，并使他们获得STEM职业机会；以及(3)提高对社会对环境友好型可持续能源需求的认识。该项目的目标将通过以下目标实现：(1)培训一支中学和高中教师队伍，了解RESS和ESD的基本概念，并让他们参与实践研究；(2)帮助教师开发课程知识单元，并将这些单元介绍给他们的学生；以及(3)使K-12学生接触到当前的能源和环境问题以及STEM职业机会。拟议的可再生能源技术培训场地项目的影响远远超出上述具体研究和课程开发活动。首先，发现环境友好型RESS和ESD的问题是及时的，因为气候变化和制造业废物对人类和动物健康的影响日益明显。其次，拟议的活动将对科学教师的研究、教育、培训和专业发展产生直接和间接的影响，开发的材料将用于吸引K-12学生进入STEM学科。这个RET网站项目将开发一个可持续和互动的研究和教育计划，让初中生接触STEM研究和就业机会，并通过向学生提供必要的技能来缩小劳动力差距。该计划的目标是培训一批初中和高中教师，并更新初中和高中的科学课程。与此同时，拟议的综合研究和教育活动的总体目标是使可再生能源和可持续发展教育技术更加清洁、可持续、可获得和高效，并将其无缝地整合到电网中。该网站将有五个研究项目，由来自不同工程系的八名教师领导，经过精心挑选，通过(1)为RESS和ESD开发新的制造方法和材料；(2)为RESS无缝集成到电网开发控制和操作架构；以及(3)减少RESS和ESD的制造和退化对环境的影响。虽然每个教师参与者通过这个RET网站推进最先进技术的潜力很小，但作为一个群体，个人项目具有创新潜力，教师对这些项目的贡献将对研究团队的成功至关重要。拟议的研究活动将有助于发展一种变革性的数学框架和方法，通过直接后果和促进进一步研究，为目前阻碍RESS和ESD发展和整合的障碍提供解决方案。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。

Due to climate change, supply scarcity, and an impetus to expand access to electricity and improve energy system resilience, there is an increasing need for new types of renewable energy sources (RESs) and energy storage devices (ESDs) that are environmentally friendly, efficient, sustainable, and affordable. Simultaneously, there is an urgent nation- and state-wide need for educated scientists and engineers to generate new ideas and technologies, due in part to inadequate student enrollment in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The main goals of this Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Site project are therefore to (1) immerse middle and high school science teachers in a hands-on research experience; (2) promote discoveries and innovations in this field among middle and high school students and expose them to STEM career opportunities; and (3) increase awareness of society’s need for environmentally-friendly sustainable energy sources. The goals of the project will be achieved through the following objectives: (1) train a cadre of middle and high school teachers in the fundamental concepts of RESs and ESDs and engage them in hands-on research experiences; (2) help teachers develop curriculum knowledge units and introduce those units to their students; and (3) expose K-12 students to current energy and environmental concerns and STEM career opportunities. The impacts of the proposed RET Site project extend well beyond the specific research and curriculum development activities described above. First, the problem of discovering environmentally-friendly RESs and ESDs is timely, since the impacts of climate change and manufacturing waste on human and animal health are becoming increasingly obvious. Second, the proposed activities will have direct and indirect impacts on research, education, training, and professional development for science teachers and the developed materials will be used to attract K-12 students to STEM disciplines. This RET Site project will develop a sustainable and interactive research and education program, expose middle and high school students to STEM research and career opportunities, and narrow the gap in the workforce by equipping students with necessary skill sets.The objective of this proposal is to train a cohort of middle and high school teachers and renovate middle and high school science curricula. This is accompanied by the overall goal of the proposed integrative research and education activities to make RES and ESD technologies more clean, sustainable, accessible, and efficient and to seamlessly integrate them into power grids. The site will have five research projects, led by eight faculty from different engineering departments, that are carefully selected to advance the state-of-the-art technologies by (1) developing new fabrication methods and materials for RESs and ESDs; (2) developing control and operation architectures for seamless integration of RESs into the power grid; and (3) reducing the environmental impacts of manufacturing and degradation of RESs and ESDs. While the potential for any individual teacher participant to advance the state-of-the-art through this RET Site is small, as a group, the individual projects have innovative potential, and the teachers’ contributions to these projects will be essential to the research teams’ success. The proposed research activities will contribute to the development of a transformative mathematical framework and methodology that will enable—both through direct consequences and through promotion of further research—solutions to hurdles that presently impede the development and integration of RESs and ESDs.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.