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The U.S. Department of Energy has given out billions of dollars to clean energy companies and projects since President Barack Obama took office — most of which has been geared toward producing jobs in the sector, including many industrial and manufacturing jobs to replace other shipped overseas. But today, the department is announcing $85 million in stimulus grants earmarked for 69 scientists still in the early stages of their careers<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe news suggests a shift in focus for the government, which has been showing more interest in developing high-level green-collar talent. Instead of just throwing money at creating the most jobs possible, it is now pinpointing individuals who could have the greatest impact on the future of America’s power mix. The idea is to give them the resources they need — over the course of five years — to eventually become leaders in their respective fields. Right now, they are expected to be either tenure-tracked assistant professors or government lab employees not yet 10 years out of doctoral programs.<\/p>\n
The grant money will be divided between academic researchers, who will receive at least $150,000 each year for five years, and scientists based in national labs — including some working at the DOE itself — who will get at lest $500,000 a year to cover salary and research expenses. A new crop of recipients will be chosen each year by the DOE’s Office of Science.<\/p>\n
To put the sum involved into context, the department just allocated less ($80 million) to jumpstart employment in the biofuels industry<\/a>. The money will go to two consortia working to commercialize jet, diesel and gas-substitute fuels derived from algae and other feedstocks. The grants are being divided among many groups and people, not select individuals. Another sign that the DOE is looking to home-grow high-level talent: earlier this week it announced $187 million in grants that would help employ 500 skilled researchers and engineers in the advanced vehicle industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the first round of winners has already been selected out of 1,750 candidates, the DOE is calling for more applications. In particular, it is looking for researchers working in computing, the energy sciences, environmental and biological labs, fusion energy, high-energy physics and nuclear physics.<\/p>\n Below is a full list of the 69 individuals chosen in the recent round. Not all of the projects they are working on sound immediately relevant to the U.S.’s most pressing energy questions. With titles like “Multifunctional Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst Design and Synthesis,” they seem to be more focused on the steps that come before applicable technology development. It’s nice to see the government funding such forward-looking interests.<\/p>\n The current winners hail from a diversity of institutions and laboratories. Unsurprisingly, there’s a dearth of women, but several are represented. It will be interesting to see how the DOE leverages the results of their projects to change the way regular Americans use and view energy, climate change and the environment.<\/p>\n Here’s the full list:<\/p>\n Early Career Research Program Selectees<\/a> <\/p>\n