BALTIMORE — With the coronavirus pandemic causing significant disruptions to the education system, the challenge is greater than ever to provide innovation and resources to support the development of the next generation of STEM and energy leaders. Constellation, an Exelon company, is responding by adapting its annual STEM funding awards to the virtual learning environment.
Constellation is now accepting applications for its 2020 E2 Energy to Educate® grant program, which provides funding for student projects focusing on energy innovation. Educators and students in grades 6-12 can apply for program grants up to $25,000, and two- and four-year colleges can apply for grants up to $50,000. The deadline for applications is Oct. 1, 2020.
“Since its inception, Energy to Educate has supported students and educators that bring unparalleled creativity, curiosity, and passion to STEM and energy learning,” said Jorge Acevedo, senior vice president, Innovation and Strategy for Constellation. “Those attributes will be put to the test as the pandemic alters the environment and structure in which students nationwide are learning. We’re eager to see the ingenuity that results from this challenge and look forward to another stellar group of student-led projects.”
In 2019, Energy to Educate awarded more than $467,000 across 18 projects and reached nearly 20,000 students nationwide. Projects included solar car competitions, fuel cell technology, energy storage, wind power, and teaching energy concepts via an interactive gaming platform. To date, the grant program has provided nearly $4 million for research and education projects that have fueled the exploration into STEM fields for more than 200,000 students.
“Without the E2 Energy to Educate grant, Rochester Institute of Technology would not have been able to host area students for its 2019 fuel cell summer camp,” says Stephanie Rankin, Director of Foundation Relations for Rochester Institute of Technology. “This camp enables students to see that experiments around energy can be fun, and through a university experience, envision themselves pursuing a fulfilling career in energy.”
To be eligible for funding, a project must align with the following energy innovation themes. Project content must also be delivered virtually or through small and safe in-person settings:
- Smart Home: How will new technologies and artificial intelligence transform our home energy usage in the future? More and more, homes are generating their own electricity and interactive technology is becoming a part of our daily lives.
- Electrification: What will the future of transportation look like? New technologies can power us into a cleaner energy future via electrification.
- Clean Energy & Zero Waste: How do we understand which energy sources and choices will have the greatest impact on our collective and individual carbon footprint? What if we could harness and store energy that would otherwise be wasted? The recycling and storage movement is catching on in energy thanks to innovative technologies.
Exelon companies, together with Constellation, contributed more than $50 million to nonprofits in 2019 supporting education, the environment, culture and arts, and community development.
Grant recipients are announced each year during American Education Week. To learn more about the program and application criteria, visit the Community Outreach section of www.constellation.com.