Interdisciplinary Science faculty member, Bhawani Venkataraman, and Interdisciplinary Science major, Sean Hughes, will present their research and interactive design approaches at the Third National Summit of Energy Education in Washington, DC and hosted by the National Council for Science and the Environment on January 25. The Comparative Energy Product is an interactive and visual educational tool they created through collaboration, that conducts a comparative analysis of electrical energy sources used to power a city. Sean has been working as Bhawani’s research assistant over the last two years and this is a culmination of their work together. The tool will also be piloted this semester in the Interdisciplinary Science Capstone Course: Planetary Health. The tool compares the health, environmental, and social costs associated with the most dominant energy sources used for electrical energy and the fastest growing renewable energy sources: coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar and wind. An objective of this tool is to move away from the political discussion around energy and instead draw from science and data to provide an objective comparison. The hope is that this understanding will also promote the development of informed opinions and actions by the user – from personal to political, such as understanding the role of government in supporting a transition towards less polluting energy sources and why this is necessary. The National Council for Science and the Environment has a number of learning tools, online seminars, and resources for education, internships and competitions, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of these resources.
