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This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports a research and educational program at The University of Texas at Austin to address sustainable grid integration of distributed and renewable energy systems, a crucial priority for greenhouse gas reduction and energy independence. A key context for this project is… more »

This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports a research and educational program at The University of Texas at Austin to address sustainable grid integration of distributed and renewable energy systems, a crucial priority for greenhouse gas reduction and energy independence. A key context for this project is The Pecan Street Project, a collaborative university-utility Austin-based effort to redesign and reformulate Austin’s electric power system. The research goal is to revolutionize the way energy is produced, used, stored, and traded consistent with economic, environment, social, and security objectives. Results will be applicable to distributed power (smart grid) systems throughout the U.S. and will have a significant economic impact.

Trainees will be engaged in collaborative basic and applied research in data communications, cybersecurity, network management computation, distributed generation (solar, wind, fuel cells), power electronics and controls, energy storage (batteries, flywheels, compressed air, thermal storage, electric vehicles), building HVAC systems and energy efficient buildings, efficient appliances, and sensors for system performance, tracking, and optimization. IGERT trainees will develop course materials appropriate for high school math and science educators in support of UTeachEngineering, and will assist in the creation of content for a graduate-level course on the Grid Of The Future. Outreach to underrepresented groups in K-12 will be facilitated by UTeachEngineering and development of new educational materials for high school engineering courses.

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. « less