Board 346: Plants, Power, and People: Using Agrivoltaics Engineering to Create a Network of K-12 Teachers and Students Contributing to Sustainable Energy Transitions
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topic
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NSF Grantees Poster Session
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/46928
Paper Authors
Michelle Jordan Arizona State University
Michelle Jordan is as associate professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. She also serves as the Education Director for the QESST Engineering Research Center. Michelle’s program of research focuses on social interact
Kelly Simmons-Potter The University of Arizona
Dr. Kelly Simmons-Potter is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering, and a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Optical Sciences, and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Arizona (U.A.) in Tucson, AZ. In Spring 2023 she was elevated to the rank of University Distinguished Outreach Professor. Dr. Simmons-Potter is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), Chair of the Joint National Security Applications Council Peer Review Panel (JNSAC PRP), Director of the Arizona Research Initiative for Solar Energy (AzRISE), and a Professor in the Indigenous Food, Energy, and Water Systems Graduate Interdisciplinary Program (U.A.). She is the co-author of three textbooks in the field of optics, has authored more than 125 peer-reviewed publications, has delivered more than 150 scholarly presentations, and holds several patents. Her research focuses on radiation-hardened optics, photosensitive materials and devices, and sustainable energy system resiliency and design.
Steven J. Zuiker Arizona State University
Steven Zuiker is an associate professor of the learning sciences in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. His research is broadly based on the notion that ideas are only as important as what we can do with them. Learning environments like school gardens and video games can each be both useful and used to create value in educational and local communities. Dr. Zuiker's research agenda explores how to design activities, resources, and projects that interconnect classrooms and campus, schools and communities, and, ultimately, educational research and educational practice.
Greg Barron-Gafford The University of Arizona
Abstract
The Sonoran Desert Photovoltaics Laboratory (SPV Lab) is an NSF-funded Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program that aims to organize a regional approach to pursuing an interconnected set of site-specific photovoltaic (PV) engineering research projects for K-12 STEM teachers along the corridor between two metropolitan cities co-located in a Desert region of the US. Specifically, SPV Lab faculty and graduate students across two university campuses partner with teachers and students to spread PV research experiences to schools serving students from populations historically minoritized in engineering. Using shared data platforms and teacher-developed curriculum modules, the SPV Lab network forms an inclusive and diverse community of school-based citizen scientist who are committed to learning and contributing to agrivoltaics, a novel approach to coupling solar energy production with agriculture to power panels, plants, and people.
During a six-week RET summer program, teachers are co-located in a university research lab where they (a) learn PV content knowledge, including understanding what is currently known about agrivoltaics systems around the globe, (b) engage in engineering research practices as they conduct their own agrivoltaics research, (c) and co-develop curriculum and resources to support school-based agrivoltaics citizen science. Returning to their campuses in the fall, teachers lead their students in agrivoltaics research across the school year. Students build two mirror garden beds on their campus, one with solar panels over the crops (experimental) and one without solar panels (control). Using digital sensors, they collect, analyze, and interpret data to address three core research questions: (a) how do solar panels impact garden microclimates, (b) how does placing solar panels over growing crops influence efficiency, and (c) how can agrivoltaics benefit people in our desert communities? Students then submit lab reports to share their results across the SPV Lab network (i.e., other schools, university researchers, and community partners) using a shared virtual platform in order to collectively create new regional scientific knowledge to benefit their communities.
Now heading into its third year, SPV Lab has developed a strong learning and sharing community that continues to support teacher participants and students across multiple years. The SPV Lab poster for this session will share research and evaluation results based on data collected over the first two years of the program.
Jordan, M., & Simmons-Potter, K., & Zuiker, S. J., & Barron-Gafford, G. (2024, June), Board 346: Plants, Power, and People: Using Agrivoltaics Engineering to Create a Network of K-12 Teachers and Students Contributing to Sustainable Energy Transitions Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46928
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