PEI-STEP: Taking engineers a step further

by Prachi Patel

With research, classes, and teaching assistantships keeping graduate students on their toes, a fellowship in environmental policy is not only added work, but could also take students away from their research toward their Ph.D.

Such interdisciplinary work, however, gives graduate students a chance to see what lies beyond their everyday grind in the lab and their desktop computer screens.

The Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) fellowships offered by the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) in conjunction with the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs take engineers a step further than other interdiscipli nary work within science and engineering.

It helps engineering students develop versatility by going beyond their specific area of research, at the same time bringing about awareness of how their work affects environmental policy.

Started in 1997, STEP has since given numerous students in science and engineering a chance to "not only be aware of the environmental implications of their work, but to actually do something about it," said Valerie Thomas, a research scientist at PEI and the PEI-STEP coordinator.

Fellows are awarded half-time tuition and support for two years, at the end of which they are expected to publish their research as an independent paper that is comparable to a chapter in their Ph.D. thesis.

To supervise the environmental policy side of their work, students choose a co-adviser in another department in addition to their primary adviser.

Students also take three science and technology policy courses, for which they receive a graduate certificate in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School.

Dr. Thomas believes that these fellowships enable students to "come out better."

For a couple years' worth of extra work, engineers may discover that they have more to gain than lose. With more students possessing a science background needed in policy-making, students looking for jobs in nonprofits and government think tanks would certainly benefit.

While providing a new way to think, relating engineering to policy could also provide graduate students with the necessary tools for scientific and teaching careers.

According to STEP fellow William Jordan, a fourth-year graduate student in electrical engineering, his work helped him "find a way to tell technical things to nontechnical people... find a way to pick the right thing to say."

Bill's research in solar cell technology, fueled by his interest in the problem of air pollution, led him to consider doing something related in environmental policy.

He is working on a review paper of research that has been done regarding the link between greenhouse gas emissions and ozone depletion.

His Ph.D. adviser, Electrical Engineering Professor Sigurd Wagner, has been very supportive.

Having enjoyed the work he's done so far, Bill would definitely encourage other engineers to apply for the PEI-STEP fellowship, although he warns that it wasn't easy.

This experience has been "something totally new, and to understand the details sufficiently to write about it took a lot of work," he said.

Other students have chosen research topics for the fellowship that were either so directly related to their Ph.D. study that the results could be included in their theses, or that were entirely unrelated and gave the student a brandnew perspective on engineering research.

In either case, being PEI-STEP fellows has given the students the chance to publish their work independently.

With the next deadline still a some time away, graduate students have plenty of time to think about and plan their fellowship research proposal. As Dr. Thomas advises--it's never too early to start.