Programs and Opportunities

The Impact pillar works closely with the Education pillar to create programs that will attract engineering and science students to a career in energy.  There is a real need to develop a talented and globally competitive STEM workforce, particularly to tackle the tough issues facing us, such as those around the energy transition.  CISTAR does so by offering programs with a common theme across the research problems that we are trying to solve being: “How a wide range of energy sources serve the needs of people, and how we balance those needs against the impact these energy sources differentially have on communities and our world.” Here are a few examples of programs and opportunities that we offer:

SUMMER PROGRAMS

The IMPACT pillar staff collaborate with the EDUCATION pillar staff to make the summer programs the best that they can be!  For example, we offer mentor training (how to be effective mentors) just a few weeks prior to the start of summer programs for all graduate mentors, but particularly for those new to being a research mentor. We also assess the mentoring part of the summer research experience to make sure both mentors and mentees are enjoying themselves and growing professionally.  

Help to Fuel the Future If you are interested in becoming involved in this program (i.e., providing funds for more students; being a part of our industry program), please contact Maeve Drummond Oakes, CISTAR Director of Engineering Workforce Development or Denise M. Driscoll, CISTAR Director of Access and Societal Impacts.

CISTAR'S REM PROGRAM

CISTAR partners with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to offer a Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) summer program that is open to students from all backgrounds who are in engineering or science undergraduate programs across the country and interested in a future career in energy.

Highlights of the program include: 

  • A unique combined summer experience.  Talented and highly-motivated students across engineering and science disciplines get to spend 6-weeks doing cutting-edge research at CISTAR and then spend 4-weeks mentoring kids at NSBE’s Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) camps.   
  • Getting the best of both worlds.  They get to spend part of their summer being mentored and growing their research and professional skills (with the SURF program) and then spend time “giving back” by encouraging and mentoring younger kids in 4th to 6th grade to become interested in STEM—all in one summer! 

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REM FOR TEACHERS

Beginning in 2024, we also had REM teachers at Purdue doing research and then being lead mentors in NSBE SEEK.  CISTAR partnered, as well, with EPICS K12 to help teachers translate their energy-related research into curricula for NSBE SEEK and their middle school classrooms. 

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CISTAR’S REU PROGRAM

CISTAR also has a traditional 10-week summer research program that has talented and highly motivated undergraduates in engineering and science come to one of our universities for the summer to do cutting-edge research.  Students come from all across the U.S. to work with CISTAR faculty.  They are a part of SURF and present their research findings at a research symposium at the end of summer.  

GROWING ONE’S NETWORK – ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY

REU and REM students doing summer research with CISTAR are particularly inspired and connected to one another by having a common theme across their different research projects of Energy for Our Growing World – How to reduce the negative impact that energy sources have on our world while still meeting people's energy needs.

They are also inspired by learning what energy companies are doing, and having interactive talks, company tours, and weekly mentoring sessions with industry professionals.  In this way, they grow not only their academic networks, but their industry networks, as well.

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Recruitment

CISTAR is focused on making sure that people from all backgrounds have an opportunity to learn about our center and the benefits that come with being a member of an Engineering Research Center.  We try at professional and national conferences -- such as AIChE, ASEE, SHPE, SWE, AISES, and NSBE -- to attract students to apply to one of our programs or universities for their undergraduate or graduate degrees. 

Outreach

The center faculty, staff, and students work together to reach kids and young adults in the schools and at community events across the country with in-person and virtual opportunities that we make both fun and educational. Our CISTAR members across all our universities help us to do outreach to attract and encourage kids and young adults, especially individuals from backgrounds not traditionally well represented in STEM, to think about going into these field. For more information, please visit the CISTAR Outreach page.

There are many opportunities for our students to learn more by arranging a study or work internship abroad with one of our partners.  We have partners around the world and many global industry partners.
In summer 2024, there will be a new virtual learning opportunity for graduate students interested in energy:  Growing Intercultural Global Energy Leaders (GIGEL):  A Graduate Certification Program that will be taught by Dr. Denise Driscoll (Purdue/CISTAR's Director of Access and Societal Impact) and Dr. Jennifer Cole (Northwestern University/CISTAR's Site Education Liaison).  
To read more about the certificate program, last taught in summer 2022, see the short report on outcomes