This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports the further development of a multidisciplinary graduate training program of education and research in Nanostructured Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Intellectual Merit: The purpose of this program is to provide doctoral students with enhanced multidisciplinary training in the skills required for conducting research in energy science, technology and policy. This IGERT training aims to address all the stages of needed technological developments, starting from materials, to the fabrication of devices, to the integration of devices into systems, and how energy policy and economics may impact each of these stages, thus affecting the advancement and adoption of new energy solutions.
Broader Impacts: The program will advance knowledge of the economics of energy choices and policy development with sophisticated technical awareness of alternative technologies. Professors and students from neighboring HBCUs will be involved in the IGERT?s research and educational activities. A required component of the program is a set of four courses; first is an introductory seminar course, followed by a set of courses designed to provide participants with cross-disciplinary training in policy and technology. Next will be a set of studio courses designed to investigate and solve problems in the area of energy and energy policy by teams of students. International collaborations, industrial and national laboratory internships, and personal development seminars will help to create ethical, responsible and capable leaders of the future.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
