Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

o Based on demonstrated advances and promising viability of fusion energy as a major breakthrough in delivering clean, safe energy globally, it is vital that public perception, understanding, and acceptance of fusion is addressed. As fusion‚ energy advocacy and education organization, ECG defines education in curriculum and in broader public communication terms, which often overlap. 

As part of our multiple advocacy efforts with partner and collaborative groups in the US and abroad, ECG aims to deliver a multi-style-use fusion education program geared first toward middle school students. To create and pilot this Fusion in a Box initiative, ECG has partnered with STEM Kings and Queens, a NY-based education modeling organization. Together, we have compiled broad fusion education materials in partnership with ITER (the $ multibillion, multinational fusion project in France) to develop the framework of a portable, accessible, replicable introduction to fusion energy for 5-8th grade students. Development of this project began in September 2021. Since then, in addition to material compilation, ECG has secured workshop space at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity in Troy, NY, buy-in by the local school district to offer the program to students, and the timetable to deliver the workshops. The purpose of ECG‚ approach to GWMP and the Keeling Curve Prize application is to fund the rollout and implementation of this pilot program to deliver fusion education in an experiential, workshop format for traditionally underserved students. And to replicate the model, once proved.

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Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

SKQ, founded by Kayla Miller and ECG‚ partner in this initiative, focuses her educational workshops on traditionally underserved schoolchildren in the Capital region of New Yrok (Albany area). She has run very successful workshops from Demystifying Viruses to Coding Robots to interactive exploration of DNA. Kayla founded SKQ specifically to address what she saw as a need in public schools for more and better STEM education exposure to schoolchildren. Her own college experience led her to question why there were so few minority/female participants in STEM-related courses of study and to do something about it. In fusion the result of the paucity of female scientists in positions of leadership is evident and handicaps the way it is being understood.
Our Fusion in a Box program will bring an excellent workshop model that will be useful to STEM programs globally. It‚ with content that will inform and engage schoolchildren in the wonders of fusion energy (our sun is one big ball of fusion as are all the stars!) and how the up-and-coming young physicists, engineers, techies, and scientists can and will dramatically alter the clean energy landscape and their enthusiasm will count when bringing fusion energy to viability, commercialization, and success globally in the near future.
The Fusion in a Box pilot program will be offered at no cost to the school district (school districts are constantly inundated with different enrichment opportunities from various providers, and it can be overwhelming to choose what will be the best fit based on specific school needs).
The climate crisis is a pressing issue that has/will affect all of us, especially this younger generation of students who will inherit the consequences, and this will be disproportionate in historically underrepresented communities that will continue to be affected first
Program lead Kayla Miller is a resident of the same community in which some of the students reside
A lot of schools are looking for culturally relevant educational experiences for their students (cultural relevance is woven into STEM Kings & Queens curriculum by highlighting underrepresented pioneers in STEM fields/entrepreneurship)
Science, technology, engineering, and math are critical fixtures in our society that will grow in a future scrambling for more solutions to climate. Fusion is an emerging industry with hundreds of workplace opportunities now, soon growing will into the thousands. (most schools want their students to be prepared for opportunities once they graduate, even if the opportunities are in their early stages, schools are doing their best to think ahead‚Äìand we can help)

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