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，培养知情的公民，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能源系统成功转型的要素。解决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实验室），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）站点促进科学和工程的进步，该站点将使教师从两方面推动能源革命。首先，它们将直接促进提高光伏（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，特殊用途实验室也会(a)通过让少数族裔学生参与有意义的STEM学习，扩大他们在工程领域的参与；(b)创建一个可持续的、可扩展的教学模式，重点是培养学生对世界当前能源形势和相关社会技术挑战的理解；(c)建立标准化光伏产品的原型，可在不同的教育环境中实施，并在不同的学校站点之间共享数据平台；(d)促进大学、学校和行业伙伴关系，以支持和扩大光伏系统的K-12教育。总之，这些活动为扩大公平和可持续地获得太阳能开辟了一条途径。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知识公民，为国家能源转型做出贡献，从而为扩大公平和可持续的太阳能获取途径以及STEM教育和职业途径创造途径。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用途启发的光伏（PV）研究项目。SPV实验室的教师和研究生将与教师合作，通过共享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，将光伏研究经验传播给为种族和少数民族学生服务的学校。每年夏天的RET将以为期一周的群体定向和光伏训练营开始，然后在三个实验室之一进行为期五周的综合研究项目参与：亚利桑那州立大学的太阳能实验室（SPL），亚利桑那州立大学的AzRISE/TEP光伏测试场和生物圈2的农业发电研究中心。SPV计划将把教师嵌入到研究项目中，以寻求更好地监测、表征、预测或优化PV的表现。这些协调一致的研究经验将直接吸引教师参与研究，有可能对当地可再生能源发电投资产生重大影响。视频会议将支持跨站点的行业网络研讨会和虚拟实验室参观、教学研讨会，以及使用公民科学模型将研究转移到课堂的课程模块的共同开发。模块将在年中年度专业开发研讨会、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光伏性能对当地社区的社会价值。SPV实验室将：(a)通过教师参与的研究项目推进PV的科学、技术和可持续性，(b)作为PV工程教育中教师专业发展的可持续、可扩展模式的试点，以及(c)培养公民科学文化，让学生积极参与PV工程研究，促进批判性、联系性和集体参与，使用支持变革学习的理论和实践。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

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.