The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the first group of faculty members selected for the innovative Faculty-Applied Clean Energy Sciences (FACES) Program. This program has been designed to establish connections between DOE laboratories and academic institutions, improve STEM education, and advocate for clean energy responsibility in social and environmental sciences.
The FACES program has picked its first set of members from minority-serving institutions (MSI) nationwide, including Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions (ANNHSIs), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AANAPISIs).
The selected faculty cohort will be partnering with scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado for a 10-week summer program. Their main goal is to create educational modules focused on various clean energy subjects that can be adapted into the curricula at their home institutions and shared with other MSIs. This collaboration will aid in the development of resources for teachers to support students interested in pursuing careers in clean energy.
“We’re excited to provide MSI faculty members with the chance to engage directly with DOE and national laboratories through FACES, expanding their research networks and empowering them to educate their students on cutting-edge clean energy science topics,” stated Terrence Mosley, senior advisor for diversity and STEM in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
