Meeting the Grand Challenge for Future Carbon Management Engineers and Scientists: Stimulating Workforce Capacity Through Teacher Professional Development☆

Abstract In 2008 the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced a list of fourteen Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century that includes the challenge to “Develop carbon sequestration methods”. The NAE highlighted the importance of creating an awareness of and involvement in the Grand Challenges for the pre-university community in order to (1) strengthen the technical workforce pipeline, (2) develop technical literacy and motivation needed for the global society to address these challenges, and (3) educate the general public on engineering and its role in addressing these challenges and improving the quality of life. In 2009, we initiated a program funded by the United States Department of Energy to increase workforce capacity for the geological carbon storage (GCS) industry. As part of this initiative, we have forged alliances to bring high-quality curriculum related to GCS to pre-university classrooms, and to provide teachers an opportunity to introduce curriculum on one of the Grand Challenges for Engineering into their classroom.