Achievement

A highly cross-disciplinary graduate course, first proposed within the Sustainable Fuels IGERT, was developed in the fall and launched in the spring term. The awarding of a second energy-related IGERT at Rutgers (Nanotechnology for Clean Energy) presented an unexpected opportunity to collaborate on course development, and faculty from both IGERTs participated in course planning and delivery. The purpose of the course, "Integrated Energy Challenges and Opportunities," is to offer a research-level view of the "energy landscape" to graduate students pursuing energy-related research in diverse disciplines and graduate programs. Topics include solar panels, biofuels, fuel cells, carbon sequestration, smart grid, land-use, energy policy and economics. Trainees from both IGERTs as well as non-IGERT students are participating. Pre-and post-class assessments and follow-up will tracking student perceptions and outcomes and help guide the evolution of the course.