IGERT: Sustainable Energy from Solar Hydrogen

WHAT WILL I NEED TO STUDY?

When you leave our IGERT program, we hope that you will be ready to combine the skills and knowledge that you've learnt to create novel solutions to sustainable energy. The course itself, intends to combine the needed credits required for your PhD in your chosen area, as well as give you specialized instruction in modules relating to Sustainable Energy and Solar Hydrogen. Below is a summary of the number of credits required from each discipline as well as the course expectations.

Chemical Engineering
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP)
Economics
Electrical and Computer
Materials Science and Technology
Mechanical Engineering
Physics and Astronomy

Chemical Engineering
The aim of the course requirements is to develop a foundation of technical knowledge in chemical engineering.
- There are 3 components to the course requirements :
  - Core Courses:
    1. Thermodynamics.
    2. Transport Phenomena
    3. Chemical Kinetics and Reaction Engineering
  - Advanced Mathematics
  - Eight Credits of Chemical Engineering Electives.
- Each student is required to pass an oral Qualifying Exam which is given at the end of the student's first year, after completion of the core courses. Only one opportunity is given for you to take and pass the exam.
- Nine credits of a Doctoral Dissertation are also required. These should be taken after all other course work is completed.

CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY :
- All first year graduate students are required to take a non-credit one-hour special seminar, CHEM-865-010 (new student seminar) and CHEM 601, Introduction to Laboratory Instruction.
- Graduate students must also register for one of the following topical seminar series.
  - Biochemistry Seminar
  - Organic/Inorganic Seminar
  - Physical/Analytical Seminar
- Graduate students must register for Colloquia
- The department course requirements are a minimum of 18 credit hours in graduate level courses excluding research and dissertation. 9 of these must be taken outside the student's division.
- Scientific courses offered by other departments may be counted as courses outside the student's division.
- The PhD degree also requires successful completion of a series of cumulative examinations, a thesis and a final public oral defense of the dissertation.

Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP):
Work in CEEP is guided by theories of political economy and technology, environment and society. Research programs currently organized in CEEP include sustainable energy efficiency and renewable energy, energy applications, water conservation and management, and comparative energy and environmental policy. CEEP administers the interdisciplinary graduate program in Energy and Environmental Policy which offers Master's and Ph.D. degrees that combine study in the social sciences, engineering and the natural sciences to address core problems in energy-environment-society relations.
- In your first year you are required to take 2 3-credit seminars: :
  - UAPP 821 Technology, Environment and Society
  - UAPP 820 International Perspectives on Energy & Environmental Policy.
- 6 Credits of methodology course work are selected from the following list of three-credit courses.
  - ECON 801 Microeconomic Theory
  - ECON 802 Macroeconomic Theory
  - ENWC 615 Wildlife Research Techniques
  - FREC 666 Special Problem: GIS in Natural Resources Management
  - GEOG 671 Advanced Geographic Info Systems
  - GEOG 672 Seminar in Geographic Info Systems
  - MAST 681 Remote Sensing of Environment
  - ORES 801 Optimization Models & Methods
  - POSC 816 Advanced Social Research
  - UAPP/POSC 801 Processes of Social Inquiry
  - UAPP 816 Advanced Social Statistics
- For individuals with strong backgrounds in economics, the following three credit methods courses may be added to the above list for selection:
- 6 Credits of social science course work are selected from the following list of three-credit courses.
  - ECON 862 Economics of Regulation
  - GEOG 622 Resources, Development and the Environment
  - MAST670 U.S. Ocean and Costal Policy
  - MAST/ECON 675 Economics of Natural Resources
  - MAST/ECON 676 Environmental Economics
  - MAST 677 International Ocean & Environmental Policy
  - MAST/UAPP 679 Shipping and Port Management
  - MAST 692 Environmental Values, Movements and Policy
  - POSC 656 Politics and Disaster
  - POSC/UAPP 818 Environmental Policy and Administration
  - POSC/SOCI 866 Special Problem: Issues in Disaster Research.
  - POSC/UAPP 868 Research: Environmental Policy
  - POSC/UAPP 870 Readings: Environmental Policy
  - SOCI 667 Social Science of Disasters
  - SOCI/POSC 866 Special Problem: Issues in Disaster Research
  - POSC/UAPP 868 Research: Environmental Policy
  - POSC/UAPP 870 Readings: Environmental Policy
  - SOCI 667 Social Science of Disasters
  - SOCI 667 Environmental Sociology
  - UAPP 611 Regional Watershed Management
  - UAPP/POSC 625 Energy Policy and Administration
  - UAPP/GEOG 628 Issues in Land Use and Environmental Planning
  - UAPP 666 Special Problem: Topics in Energy Policy
  - UAPP 666 Special Problem: Topics in Political Economy of Energy& Environment
  - UAPP 666 Special Problem: Topics in Sustainable Development
  - UAPP 666 Special Problem: Comparative Environmental Politics
  - UAPP 802 Electricity Policy and Planning
  - UAPP 810 Political Economy of the Environment
  - UAPP 824 Sustainable Energy Policy and Planning
  - UAPP 868 Research: Environmental Justice Issues
  - UAPP 868 Research: Political Economy of Energy & Environment
  - UAPP 868 Research: Sustainable Development Issues
  - UAPP 868 Research: Sustainable Energy Policy
  - UAPP 868 Research: Sustainable Water Policy
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Climate Change Politics and Policy
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Ecofeminism
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Energy Economics
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Energy and Gender
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Energy Policy
  - UAPP/PHIL 870 Readings: Environmental Ethics
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Environmental Justice
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Political Economy of Energy & Environment
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Postmodernism and Environmentalism
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Sustainable Development
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Sustainable Energy Options
  - UAPP 870 Readings: Sustainable Water Options
- Students complete the science, engineering and public policy requirement by choosing a three-credit graduate course (including tutorial courses with a number such as 666, 868 or 870) in a natural science or engineering related topic to meet the science, engineering and public policy requirement. The course must be taken with a member of the University's science or engineering faculty and should be linked to the student's research interest.
- Doctoral students are required to stand for and pass the Qualifying Examination in Theory, Methodology and Policy Analysis at the conclusion of the first year of study. The Examination is prepared by a committee of the ENEP core faculty and is chaired by the ENEP program director. Students receiving a conditional pass or failing grade cannot continue further in the program until they have achieved a passing grade (based either on completion of remedial work or re-examination, as specified by the examination committee). Only one re-examination is permitted.
- Doctoral Dissertation
  - The Ph.D. in ENEP is awarded upon the successful defense of the dissertation before a committee of four faculty, two of whom - including the chair - must be selected from the core faculty of the ENEP Program. At least one committee member must be selected from non-ENEP core faculty and may hold an appointment from another institution. It is expected that an external faculty member from another institution with expertise in the regional focus of the dissertation will be selected when the research concerns an international topic. The defense of the dissertation is conducted as a public examination. The committee must determine that the work represents a distinctive contribution to the field and meets standards of scholarship and research expected for the award of a Ph.D. in the field.

Economics :
The overall curriculum provides students with a balance between a core of microeconomic, macroeconomic and econometric theory and a wide variety of applied courses. These programs are designed to prepare individuals for professional careers involving the application of economic analysis in both the public and private sectors, including academia.
- Doctoral students must complete a minimum of eight additional approved graduate course beyond the master's degree, five of which are required:
  - Advanced Microeconomic Theory
  - Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
  - Advanced Topics in Econometrics
  - Time-series Econometrics
  - Mathematical Methods for Economics
- The remaining three courses must satisfy the field requirement.
- Students must also pass PhD preliminary examinations in these three areas:
  - Microeconomic Theory
  - Macroeconomic Theory, and
  - The student's major field of study.
- Students must also successfully defend a proposal outlining the nature of the work to be done for the dissertation.

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING :
- Candidates for the PhD degree must complete the 30 credit hours required for the Master's Degree which include:
  - 6 credits of foundation electrical engineering courses from a choice of
    - Computer Engineering:
      - Computer Networking Communications
      - Principles of Parallel Computer Architecture
    - Communications Engineering:
      - Information Theory
      - Digital Communications
    - Signal Processing
      - Digital Signal Processing
      - Statistical Signal Processing
    - Nanoelectronics
      - Electronic Materials Processing
      - Nanoelectronic Device Principles
    - Electromagnetics and Photonics
      - Optoelectronics
      - Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics
    - Biomedical Engineering
      - Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
      - Cell & Molecular Biology for Engineers
  - 18 credits of advanced technical courses related to the student's area of interest, as well as;
- Take a least two of the foundation courses outside their area of interest.
- Complete a course program in his/her area of specialization - Write a qualifying exam BASED on the foundation courses
- Write a pre-thesis examination and,
- Participate in a final oral examination in which the student presents the results of his/her dissertation research to members of the faculty.

MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY :
- 36 credits of coursework required:
- The following 3 credit courses, or their equivalent, are required:
  - Equilibria in Materials Systems
  - Kinetics in Materials Systems
  - Structure of materials
  - Physical Properties of Materials I
  - Introduction to Polymer Science and Engineering
- The remaining 21 credits of elective courses will be chosen after discussion with the advisor, and will usually be related to the student's area of research interest.
- Candidates are required to demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge of materials science by passing the qualifying examination. This consists of a comprehensive research project (written/oral) review on a topic chosen by the candidate and his/her supervisor.
- Candidates write a dissertation containing original results of the student's research efforts which is then presented and approved by the PhD committee and the Chairperson of the Department.
- There is a final oral examination where-by the student will be examined on the dissertation by the PhD Qualifier/Dissertation Committee.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING :
- The PhD program in Mechanical Engineering consists of 33 credit hours plus nine credits of Doctoral Dissertation.
- Course requirements include the following:
  - At least four courses (12 credits) at the 600 or higher level in Mechanical Engineering,
  - At least three courses (9 credits) at the 800 level.
  - At least one course (3 credits) in mathematics
  - 9 credits of a Doctoral Dissertation
  - The PhD qualifying exam is based on the materials in the courses
    - MEEG610 - Intermediate Solid Mechanics
    - MEEG620 - Intermediate Dynamics
    - MEEG630 - Intermediate Fluid Dynamics
    - MEEG640 – Intermediate Heat Transfer
    - MEEG690 – Intermediate Engineering Mathematics
  - Students will write tests in three of the five subject areas corresponding these five courses.
- A dissertation is required which demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct independent research.
- Candidates will participate in a candidacy examination as well.

PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY :
- Students must take and pass 30 credits of course work within the first five semesters after entering graduate school.
- 18 of these credits must be from among 800-level PHYS courses, and of these 18, 15 must come from the following group of 6 courses:
  - PHYS809 - To be decided
  - PHYS810 - Electromagnetic Theory
  - PHYS811 - To Be decided
  - PHYS812 - Quantum Mechanics
  - PHYS813 - Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics
  - PHYS815 - To Be decided
- All students in the PhD program must attempt the written part of the PhD candidacy exam at the latest at the end of their second semester in the program. It covers four subjects:
  - Mechanics (PHYS620)
  - Electricity and Magnetism (PHYS603/304)
  - Statistical Mechanics (PHYS616) and,
  - Quantum Mechanics (PHYS610)
- Students are expected to make an oral presentation on the proposed thesis research to a committee.
- The student will write a PhD dissertation after successful completion of a research program.
- The dissertation is defended in an oral examination administered by the student's dissertation committee.