Component Three

• Forecast workforce demand (for the next five years) based upon your technical application’s impact to the marketplace.

According to the former vice president, Al Gore, "solar and wind power have tremendous potential to create clean jobs for the United States while reducing emissions as we enter the twenty-first century." In 1995, more than 45,000 jobs were related to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. It is expected that the use of solar energy and renewable energy will double by the year 2010, resulting in more than 350,000 new jobs. Our technical application (integrating solar technologies into window awnings) will impact the workforce demands in areas of  Photovoltaics Engineering and Solar Engineering. Specific positions may include photovoltaic engineers, solar architects, manufacturing managers, production operating workers and laborers.

• Give two examples of an undergraduate or graduate degree program in science or engineering that a student could pursue to become involved in research directly related to the team’s NCT technical application. Be sure to include the URL address of the institution, the department where the program is located and a brief description of the program of study.

Image courtesy of University of New South Wales

The University of Massachusetts at Lowell, offers a graduate program in Renewable Energy Engineering. The Energy Engineering Program has two M.S. degree options: Solar Energy Engineering and Nuclear Energy Engineering. The admission requirement for the program is a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering or a similar engineering degree.  Each student must take a series of core courses appropriate for their area of specialization. The required courses are as follows:

• Energy Engineering Workshop
• System Dynamics
• Advanced Transport Phenomena
• Fundamentals of Solar Thermal Utilization
• Solar Systems Engineering - Commercial and Industrial

At the University's Center for Sustainable Energy, students have an opportunity to develop systems to provide energy for various uses in an environmentally and economically efficient manner. The center is unique in the degree to which it combines undergraduate and graduate education, research, public service, service-learning, and public education into its projects. Past and present projects in the center have focused on rural solar electrification, solar/electric/fuel-cell vehicles, photovoltaic-assisted lighting, building thermal efficiency test methods, solar crop drying, solar design tools, solar resource databases, and PV battery testing.

• Give a title and 100-word description for a new science and/or engineering degree program which might emerge given the advancements in scientific knowledge that the team identified.

 Photovoltaics and Solar Architecture Engineering 

Our proposed graduate program in Photovoltaics and Solar Architecture Engineering will provide the necessary training for a student to integrate solar technologies into building designs. The department will consider students who have a Bachelor of Science degree in Photovoltaics Engineering, Solar Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a similar engineering discipline for enrollment in the Photovoltaics and Solar Architecture Engineering program. Students considering this program should prepare by taking classes in electronics, mathematics, physics and architecture. 

By completing the following courses the students will gain the knowledge and training necessary to design energy efficient solar buildings.

In addition to the above courses the students are required to complete a thesis or a project which must be defended in an oral examination conducted by the faculty members.