Session: 01-01 A Just Transition to a Sustainable Future

Paper Number: 109071

109071 - Building Inclusive and Just Pathways to a Clean Energy Economy Through Youth Education of Clean Energy 

The Alabama Energy Transformation Initiative (AETI), a Department of Energy Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize Winner team, explored multiple ways in which energy science and management training can fit into 9th to 12th grade and college education experiences, and investigate student learning outcomes and the program impact. AETI program aims to educate underrepresented minority Alabamian students about clean energy practices while providing in-house training for career opportunities. According to the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, many of the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, AL area communities are disadvantaged in clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, and workforce development. Cross-sector collaboration of the initiative included The University of Alabama (UA) Engineering and Political Science, Energy Alabama (a nonprofit organization advocating for clean energy education), the Alabama Industrial Assessment Center (AIAC), and local majority-minority high schools.

Our program has two tracks, and a large portion of our UA participants are minority students in STEM such as women in a largely male-dominated field, or participants of historically underrepresented racial heritages.  For underclassmen at UA, we have the Energy Assessment track in which we provide 8 students with industrial energy assessment training via a peer mentoring system. This program also gives the opportunity to participate in energy assessment projects for industry clients which are small and medium-sized businesses in Alabama. For upperclassmen, there is the Energy in Action track. This program aims to educate up to 50 high school students at 2 majority-minority schools with outreach programs and peer mentoring by 8 college students.

We will conduct surveys and interviews before and after the programs and report the result after May 2023. We will evaluate students’ technical understanding, to quantify the impact of our program on students’ learning. We will analyze how hands-on, real-world, and problem-based energy education approaches affect students’ perception and disposition toward STEM and energy. We will also gauge students’ interest in continuing to pursue energy and STEM education and career.

Additionally, based on the mentors’ interaction with underrepresented minority students, we will study if underrepresented minority mentors could have a positive impact on the underrepresented minority student mentees to be more confident and interested in pursuing STEM/energy education and career. This program supports the Biden-Harris Administration Justice40 Initiative to put environmental and economic justice at the center of America’s transition to a net zero economy by 2050. Energy and climate change issues in Alabama are related to the equity issue as the state is home to one of the highest household energy burdens and industrial energy use in the nation. Education and outreach are our main levers for supporting underserved communities and underrepresented groups.

Presenting Author: Colby Putman The University of Alabama

Presenting Author Biography: My name is Colby Putman and I am 4th-year Aerospace Engineering senior undergraduate student from the University of Alabama. I like to stay active on campus by being involved in many extracurricular research activities. I am the undergraduate research coordinator for the Alabama Energy Transformation Initiative (AETI), a U.S. Department of Energy Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize winner project. I am also an undergraduate research assistant for an elementary school thermofluid sciences education project. Along with my involvement in research, I am also completing my senior design project for Aerospace engineering in which I am working on composite material analysis for rocket engine combustion chambers to complete in the Friends of Amateur Rocketry Dollar Per Foot Challenge in Spring 2023.