Energy touches all aspects of the human experience and is central to nearly every global challenge the world faces today, from raising the standards of living around the world to the existential threat of climate change. The scientific basis of energy is inherently multidisciplinary, and social and behavioral sciences are also crucial to understanding the economics and policy driving technology adoption. The Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) and Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) offer the Energy Minor program to undergraduate students as a way to address the growing need for trained engineers and scientists in the many sectors that develop, manage, and propagate energy technologies.
The primary objectives of the Energy Minor are to prepare students to be successful after graduation and to position them to become leaders in the energy field, either directly as entering professionals in industry, government laboratories, and other organizations, or as graduate students in the best graduate programs.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) jointly administer the minor with the intended purpose of building connections and cross-divisional collaboration. The Energy Minor is also affiliated with the Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI, pronounced “rosy”) which provides additional support and co-curricular opportunities to students in the program. Core faculty of the minor hold appointments in ECE, EPS, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Health and Engineering, Civil and Systems Engineering, and Chemistry departments and the School of Advanced International Studies.