Transcript Slide 1

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program
(IGERT)
PROGRAM SOLICITATION NSF 09-519
The IGERT program has been developed to meet the challenges of educating
U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers who will pursue careers in research and
education, with the interdisciplinary backgrounds, deep knowledge in chosen
disciplines, and technical, professional, and personal skills to become, in their
own careers, leaders and creative agents for change.
The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education,
for students, faculty, and institutions, by establishing innovative new models
for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative
research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
It is also intended to facilitate diversity in student participation and
preparation, and to contribute to a world-class, broadly inclusive, and globally
engaged science and engineering workforce.
IGERT Program Quick Overview
266 IGERT programs have been funded
166 projects are “active”
20 new projects were funded during this competition (out of
~450 white papers)
26 are in the “Energy: alternate and renewable resources and
conservation” category
In the field of energy and in particular renewable energy, the need to
train the next generation of science, technology, entrepreneurship,
economics, and policy leaders in systems-level analysis of the problem
is particularly acute.
In response, we have developed through this IGERT program a new
model of graduate education that removes the traditional barriers
between disciplines, gives the students depth in a specific subfield and
a thorough working knowledge of systems engineering.
Students receive training in economics,
public policy, communications, and
psychology, as well as a first-hand
understanding of the multicultural and
global aspects of renewable energy.
IGERT on Distributed Renewable Energy: From Science
and Technology to Entrepreneurship and Policy
Program Features
5-year program starting July 1, 2010
6 new Ph.D. students per year, supported for 24 months
$3.2M (nearly all direct costs)
2 required courses and 4 new short courses
1 internship in a US/European lab and 1 internship in Africa
Thesis must contain elements of entrepreneurship,
economics, public policy, psychology, etc
Initial Scientific Thrusts
1. Inexpensive and Environmentally Benign Solar Cells
2. Optical Techniques For Efficient Sunlight Capture
3. Hydrogen Generation Using Solar Energy
4. Self-Assembly and Field-Directed Assembly for Fuel Cell Catalysts and Membranes
5. Economic and Business Models, and Public Policy
6. Understanding Motivations and Tradeoffs
First Generation IGERT students
Rebecca Berman
Optics
Josh Winans
Mat. Sci.
Shawn Divitt
Optics
Dan Williams
Optics
Chris Favaro
Chemistry
Lenore Kubie
Chemistry
UR IGERT Leadership Team
Director:
Philippe Fauchet
Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Director of the UR Energy Research Initiative
Co Principal Investigators:
Todd Krauss
Duncan Moore
Lawrence Rothenberg
Matthew Yates
Chemistry and Director of the Materials Science program
Optics and Vice-Provost for Entrepreneurship
Political Science
Chair of Chemical Engineering
IGERT Program Coordinator:
Vicki Heberling
Administrative Assistant for the Energy Research Initiative
Initial IGERT Faculty Participants
IGERT Student Educational Journey - YEAR 1
IGERT Student Educational Journey – YEAR 2
Required TEAM course “Economics, marketing, and
strategy”
IGERT Student Educational Journey – YEARS 3 and beyond
2nd year Industrial/Gvt Lab Internship locations
General Motors
Energy Focus
Delphi
Abengoa
Dupont
Hewlett-Packard
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Sandia National Laboratories.
2nd year International Internship locations
•Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain)
•Ecole Polytechnique Federale of Lausanne (Switzerland)
•Johannes Kepler University of Linz (Austria)
•University of Oulu (Finland)
3rd Year African Internship locations
Mozambique:
University Eduardo Mondlane
Uganda:
Makarere University
Ghana:
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Next Steps
Applications for 2nd generation IGERT students (with funding
starting July 1, 2011) due on Friday March 25
Documents required:
•Statement of interest
•CV
•Statement about research directions and/or advisor(s)
•Letter of recommendation from advisor(s)
Decisions expected by April 8 or before
SC 1: Science Communications for Multiple Audiences and Purposes
Students will learn to:
•Identify a wide range of types of texts (genres) produced for scientific purposes
and audiences, including peer scientists, students, general public, potential
business partners/investors, and policy makers
•Analyze the structure of these texts and how it relates to textual purpose and
specific audiences (e.g., persuasion, illustration, demonstration)
•Do a micro-analysis to understand how language constitutes these texts to
achieve the goals of the writer in relation to particular purposes and audiences
•Create a range of textual genres from the same base scientific/technical content
for multiple audiences/purposes
SC2: Introduction to Energy Economics, Policy and Systems
Students will:
•understand the basic economic principles that guide energy and natural
resource use (optimal resource use and depletion, resource terminology and
estimates, levelized cost calculations)
•discuss and analyze competing visions for energy policy (renewable portfolio
standards, nuclear waste policy, greenhouse gas control policy. and
international discussions on a post-Kyoto greenhouse gas agreement)
•learn how to build dynamic simulation models capable of analyzing energy
policy options (using PowerSim Studio, build simple models of oil resource
depletion, renewable backstops, and market diffusion of new energy
technologies)
SC3: Preparing for Academic, Industrial and Government Careers
Students will learn how to optimally prepare themselves for these different
careers via a combination of formal lectures by the instructor and guest
lectures/testimonials by faculty members from within and outside the
University of Rochester, and by industrial and governmental researchers. Topics
include:
•getting ready while being a graduate student
•the application and interview process
•what is unique about academia, industry, or government
•how to succeed in academia, industry and government
SC4: Working, Researching and Teaching in Other Cultures
Students will learn:
•Intercultural communication: linguistic, gestural, and other aspects of
communication, particularly related to communication when a guest in
another country
•Fundamentals of learning theories, linking approaches used in US contexts
with those used elsewhere
•How to use/modify language: Techniques for teaching/working in the
medium of English to speakers who have other native languages
•Culturally relevant pedagogy: Approaches to understanding and working
across cultural differences/variations in expectations, including
knowledge/power disparities
•To do research on target culture/context (students investigate educational
systems in target context), resulting in paper/presentation
IGERT Organizational Structure