Growing our own workforce

Steve Marcus

Tom Piechota stands on top of UNLV’s Greenspun Hall, which generates a third of its power from a photovoltaic array covering the courtyard.

By Stephanie Tavares

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Tom Piechota is the director of sustainability and multidisciplinary research at UNLV. That mouthful is already a broad job description, but this year Piechota took on even more responsibility — a new academic minor in renewable energy.

Piechota is charged with developing the program, housed in the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs. The goal is to churn out graduates who, in addition to being capable engineers and economists, are knowledgeable about solar, wind and geothermal technology and industry. Solar is the focus right now.

Renewable energy is being touted as the next boon for Southern Nevada. Solar plants and wind farms could bring much-needed construction jobs, and rooftop photovoltaic systems could bring steady installation work. If the industry really takes off, Southern Nevada could see solar or wind power manufacturing.

But the long-held belief of those who work in these industries is that Nevada — Southern Nevada in particular — doesn’t have the educated workforce to make much of this possible. The renewable energy minor is aimed at changing that.

Generally speaking, who signed up for the renewable energy minor?

We have around 40 students either interested or enrolled in the program so far. They come from all different disciplines, although more than half are from the engineering majors. But the interest is far-ranging. The first student to sign up was an environmental studies major. We have journalism majors, business majors. They range from freshmen to seniors, and there’s a lot of interest from alumni as well. We have a lot of alumni who have told us they wish this minor had been around several years ago, so we’re looking at creating a graduate-level certificate program.

Why are students interested in the minor?

It brings added value to a degree. It gives them an advantage when they go out and look for a job at a time when renewable energy is one of the few bright spots in the local economy. The students see so much in the news about energy and climate. This is the direction the market is going. They know it’s good for them to have experience with this stuff before entering the job market.

What does a student have to do to complete the minor?

We have three main course requirements: an engineering course that introduces the different technologies; an environmental science course that teaches them about the environmental issues with developing renewables; and a green building course. We feel those are three key areas for all students. It boils down to the technology and how the technology fits into the world we live in. After those three main courses, we customize the minor to their interests. We essentially split them into two paths: engineers and non-engineers. They need to complete 18 additional credits after those three core courses and there are several recommended courses they can chose from.

The minor is supported by a donation from NV Energy — what is the money used for and what happens when it runs out?

NV Energy donated $500,000 to the Department of Urban Affairs specifically for a renewable energy minor. They wanted it to be an interdisciplinary program, so that’s why it’s housed here. The money is being used for field trips, demonstration equipment, guest speakers, specialty instructors, internships, scholarships, research assistant positions and student research projects.

We have two years to use the money and then after that we’ll see what NV Energy does. Obviously we’re hoping they’ll make another donation, but this was meant as seed money to get the program off the ground. We’re looking at other means of support for it. The Energy Department is doing more grants for this type of activity, so we’ll apply for some of those.

Will the introduction of this minor help Nevada?

Definitely. This is important for economic diversification of the state. It’s logical that you’d see this minor here. We’re a renewable energy hot spot, especially for solar. It’s vital to have the educated workforce to support the growth of the industry here.

What’s in it for UNLV?

The future of education is interdisciplinary and this is a great way of bringing that to UNLV. We hope this creates an opportunity for students to interact with those outside their majors.

The faculty have been very enthusiastic about this. They’re finding complementary courses in their departments and bringing them to us, and they’re developing new courses with this minor in mind. Many of the new elements to the minor are faculty-driven. They want to be part of this. So it’s very exciting for the whole university.