The Department of Energy has launched an inaugural program aimed at bringing more minority-serving universities into the mission of developing clean energy solutions. The University of New Mexico has a seat at the table for the 10-week consortium in Colorado.
The effort to develop clean energy solutions requires collaboration across multiple and private businesses. With the goal of wrapping the most brilliant minds around the issue of clean energy, the DOE has launched the “FACES” cohort, which stands for “Faculty Applied Clean Energy Sciences” It’s an inaugural campaign that’s committed to including scientists from all walks of life.
Professors from universities in Texas, Hawaii, New York, and Puerto Rico, among others, convene in Golden Colorado for a 10-week program where they will work with DOE labs on developing their own curriculums specific to their communities. Here in New Mexico, Tito Busani, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UNM, is developing a program that will focus on photovoltaics.
The work that is done will then hopefully translate to a new curriculum at UNM and other participating institutions, eventually navigating the network of schools serving minority populations.
Busani said there are two components to their program. One focused on the science behind water consumption and solar energy. The second focused on the business behind getting their work to market.
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