NRT - Stakeholder Engaged Equitable Decarbonized Energy Futures

煤炭、汽油和柴油等碳基能源会导致温室气体排放，而温室气体排放是导致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。从历史上看，低收入群体在能源上的支出占收入的比例不成比例，由于能源技术和项目的部署不均衡，未来可能会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交付它们，将需要一支受过创新非碳能源解决方案并将其与基础设施和政策相结合的劳动力队伍，以便公平地分享环境、经济和健康利益。这些未来的劳动力将需要与社区接触，以量身定制能源解决方案，以满足需求；与来自行业、政策组织和政府机构的利益相关者进行有效沟通；并确保在受影响的社区中认识到清洁能源解决方案对环境、经济和健康的影响。这项授予利哈伊大学的国家科学基金会研究培训(NRT)奖将设立一个项目，通过在工程、政策、经济、环境科学、数据科学和人口健康方面的跨学科培训，培训具有开发和提供清洁、公平的能源解决方案所需技能的新一代能源工作者。该项目预计将培训实习生，包括24名资助的博士生和另外40名将注册证书项目和参与研究项目的研究生。该项目将通过利益相关者参与、公平考虑和跨学科来创新博士和硕士学生的培训，以开创有效的解决方案，同时培养学术界、行业、政府机构和政策组织中能源行业领导力的关键技能。这将通过七个新的计划支柱来实现：(1)关于利益相关者参与的课程，最终形成学生主导的利益相关者年度研讨会；(2)关于技术中的伦理和公平的必修课；(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，其目标是基于本地但普遍相关的公平能源脱碳主题，并要求提交论文，将技术、政策和利益相关者联系起来；(5)要求基于利益相关者的实习；(6)社区建设，以在更广泛的学生群体中放大项目的愿景；以及(7)专业发展和领导力系列研讨会，向学生介绍能源行业的各种角色。项目结果将通过实现已确定的学习目标的成效、学员的劳动力准备情况以及招收和留住学生以及应对能源行业劳动力多样性的能力来衡量。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施STEM研究生教育培训的大胆、新的、潜在的变革性模式。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保持一致的综合实习生模式，在高度优先的跨学科或趋同研究领域对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优势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.