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The Wyoming Department of Energy
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research
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Summary of Wyoming
DOE/EPSCoR Program
DOE/EPSCoR is a partnership of the United
States Department of Energy (DOE), the State of Wyoming, the University
of Wyoming (UW) and industry associates to support applied research and
development projects important to Wyoming. State government funding and
oversight is provided through the Science, Technology, and Energy Authority
(STEA) of Wyoming. Overall project guidance
is provided by the DOE/EPSCoR Committee with
representatives from State Government, UW, STEA, and industry. The ultimate
objective of the DOE/EPSCoR program is to
develop the infrastructure that will make Wyoming and UW a national leader
in research associated with fossil fuels, electrical energy resources,
and environmental remediation processes. This goal is to be realized through
support of energy-related research and human resource development activities
in areas that are of specific interest in Wyoming and with the potential
for stimulating economic development in the state. While the research primarily
involves UW faculty and graduate students, the human resources development
activities include K-12 outreach activities, summer internships for high
school students and research opportunities for undergraduate students.
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Through the DOE/EPSCoR planning process, Wyoming
has developed a strategy to enhance the State's ability to compete for
energy-related R&D funds. That strategy involves pursuing these goals and
objectives
Goals and
Objective of the DOE / EPSCoR Committee
 Establish
Wyoming as the nation's leader in research
associated with fossil fuel utilization
and associated environmental technologies.
Make
Wyoming coal, oil and natural gas more available
and more competitive sources of
energy while enhancing the utilization of Wyoming's renewable energy resources,
including wind and solar generation.
Develop
capabilities in Wyoming to support energy-related industry
in environmental monitoring, assessment,
mitigation and remediation as well as in renewable energy and its impact
on the nation's electric power infrastructure.
Enhance
research capabilities at the University of Wyoming (UW) and
the Western Research Institute (WRI) in energy related areas of science,
engineering and mathematics.
Strengthen
interaction between UW and the energy industry.
Increase
the number, quality, and diversity of
personnel with expertise in basic energy sciences.
Develop
formal engineering education articulation agreements
between UW and Wyoming's Community Colleges.
Improve
linkages with federal laboratories.
Increase
the volume of cooperative research between UW and WRI.
Raise
awareness in Wyoming of the importance of energy-related research
and education.
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The potential for the DOE/EPSCoR program
to have a major impact is particularly great in Wyoming for several reasons......
Nationally Influential Research in Wyoming
Wyoming
supports only one major university, so funding has significant influence
on budgets.
Energy-related
industry dominates Wyoming's economy and the research clusters are selected
to support that industry.
The
DOE/EPSCoR program and key people associated with the program have high
visibility in State government (including Governor Jim Geringer and Ms.
Judy Catchpole, State Superintendent of Public Instruction).
The
researchers selected are young, capable and open to new collaborations
across disciplines, giving them a genuine opportunity to become competitive
in the near future.
Perhaps
most importantly, Wyoming's small size and limited number of research institutions
make collaboration and coordination with existing state efforts to enhance
research competitiveness relatively simple. For example, key representatives
of UW, WRI, industry and state government serve on the DOE/EPSCoR planning
committee as well as the overall EPSCoR Coordinating Committee. The research
clusters and projects are selected to compliment those of the NSF and EPA
EPSCoR programs, rather than overlap those efforts. Similarly, the human
resources projects have been articulated with systemic improvement projects
in K-12 education through liaison with the Wyoming Department of Education.
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