NSF Grant Helps ATI Boost Ohio's Bioenergy Workforce
The Agricultural Technical Institute has been awarded an Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation for a program entitled "Bioenergy: A Model Workforce Education Program." The three-year grant will provide $762,416 to develop a new associate of science degree and certificate program in bioenergy and offer professional development programs for 120 high school and college educators.
A number of state and national partners will be involved in the grant activities. Partners include OARDC and CFAES, the BioHio Research Park, the National Resource Center for Agriscience and Technology Education (AgrowKnowledge), the quasar energy group, Genahol, Gerber Poultry, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, ATI's Business Training and Educational Services unit, Shisler Conference Center, area chambers of commerce, Wayne County and Miami Valley career centers, Green Energy Ohio, and the Ohio Department of Education.
The new bioenergy program will be offered beginning in autumn 2012 to coincide with the conversion to semesters. The program will prepare students for employment in operations management or maintenance of bioenergy facilities and related businesses. Over the next three years, regional employers stated that they intend to hire 90 full-time and 60 part-time employees with bioenergy training.
Principal investigators for the grant are Steven Neal, ATI associate director, and Shahrokh Rahnema, professor and chair of ATI's Arts, Sciences, and Business division. ATI received one of about 75–90 Advanced Technological Education grants awarded. Nearly 250 proposals were submitted to the National Science Foundation for consideration.
-- Frances Whited
ATI to launch renewable energy degree program
With the conversion to semesters in autumn 2012, the Agricultural Technical Institute will offer a new associate of science program in renewable energy, with specializations in bioenergy and solar and wind energy. The $1 million in grant funding ATI has received will provide support for the bioenergy specialization.
Before new courses can be taught, of course, the course content must be developed, and this activity will be supported by the USDA grant. The grant provides funds to bring industry and education leaders in the bioenergy field from throughout the United States to the ATI campus. These subject matter experts will assist in the development of the bioenergy curriculum.
The NSF grant will provide support in the form of personnel, laboratory equipment, and learning resources such as books, DVDs, and other media. A half-time laboratory technician and a full-time faculty member will be hired. The faculty member will serve as coordinator of the bioenergy specialization and teach a number of new courses that will be developed, such as Introduction to Renewable Energy (a course that will serve both specializations), Bioconversion Systems, Biomass Feedstock Evaluation and Analysis, and Renewable Energy Projects Planning, Development, and Operation.
The faculty member and laboratory technician will develop laboratory exercises and hands-on experiences utilizing equipment that will be purchased with NSF and USDA grant funds, including incubators, hand-held data acquisition devices, scale model anaerobic digesters, and gas chromatographs.
New courses that will be developed for the solar and wind energy specialization include small-scale and large-scale solar energy systems.
A teaching laboratory for solar and wind energy is also in the works, and ATI is currently in the process of developing partnerships with solar and wind energy companies to equip the instructional laboratory and support the program's need for solar panels, wind turbines, and related technology. -- Frances Whited
USDA Grant Provides More Than $280,000 to Support Bioenergy Curriculum
The USDA, through its National Institute of Food and Agriculture, has awarded the Agricultural Technical Institute a two-year grant for $281,509 as part of the New Era Rural Technology Competitive Program. The goal of this program is to help technical schools and community colleges prepare the educated workforce needed for the expanding bioenergy industry.
The grant brings together three partners: ATI, the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center, and the Ohio Soybean Council Foundation. The Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center will manage the grant, while the Ohio Soybean Council Foundation will help promote the academic program that will be developed by ATI with USDA funds.
The USDA grant will also provide support for a half-time faculty member in bioenergy, laboratory and teaching supplies and equipment, and funds for marketing and student recruitment.
-- Frances Whited
Educator Workshops Seek to Fill Worker Pipeline
According to a recent article in Manure Manager, the world biogas plants market is expected to reach $8.98 billion by the year 2017. That kind of industry growth will necessitate two types of pipelines -- a literal one to transport the production of bioenergy facilities, and a metaphorical one to provide a stream of educated bioenergy workers.
It's that metaphorical pipeline that the Agricultural Technical Institute is hoping to service with an educator professional development program that is an integral part of both the NSF and USDA grants.
Over the next three years, approximately 120 high school and college educators will be brought to the ATI campus for a two-day workshop geared toward helping them understand both the bioenergy industry and the career options available to their students -- careers for which the new renewable energy degree program can prepare these students.
As part of the workshop, educators will tour the quasar energy group biodigester located on the OARDC campus and engage in some hands-on activities, such as constructing miniature biodigesters, and teaching modules that they can take back to their own classrooms and laboratories. The USDA grant will enable ATI to engage an educational consulting firm that will take subject matter from the bioenergy curriculum and adapt it into teaching modules for high school educators.
The workshop will be marketed to high schools and career centers throughout the state of Ohio.
-- Frances Whited
