Fuel cells have the potential of becoming one of the key solutions to meeting our energy requirements over the next century. These high-efficiency and environmentally friendly power generators are being developed for transportation, stationary, and portable applications, but to fully realize their potential, the interrelated issues of reliability, performance, durability, and cost must be addressed. In this program graduate students will be educated to do just that. The intellectual merit and research focus for this IGERT program is fuel cell manufacturing, materials development, and modeling for design, manufacturing, and operation. Because innovation, small companies, and entrepreneurial activities have been drivers of job growth, the educational focus is on the development of Ph.D. students with both depth and breadth so that the students can operate effectively in interdisciplinary research, development, and commercial situations. The skills to be learned can be applied to any position or product, whether in industry, universities, or government labs. Faculty from six academic units (in engineering, science, and business) will educate Ph.D. students to become next-generation thinkers through education and training in four interrelated skill sets: 1) knowledge and learning; 2) communication; 3) teamwork and professionalism; and 4) innovation and entrepreneurship. The program will involve disciplinary courses and research, new courses in fuel cell systems, entrepreneurship training, internships at domestic and international locations, rotations through labs in synergistic disciplines, seminars and workshops that address fuel cell technology, leadership, teamwork, and ethics, and student presentations on campus and at professional meetings. The broader impacts include the potential societal benefit of reduction of cost in fuel cells, and broadening participation in this research area through a partnership with the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. 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.
