Faculty member presents policy recommendations to U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Bureau of Energy
Associate Professor of chemistry and Jefferson Science Fellow (JSF) Dr. Scott Wicker was recently invited to present his fellowship work at the Department of State鈥檚 Bureau of Energy monthly speaker series. Dr. Wicker presented policy recommendations on the e-Cycling of Solar Panel Modules to key international stakeholders on June 23.
The presentation was recorded internally and disseminated to energy officers in the United States and various U.S. embassies worldwide. Dr. Wicker covered a strategic positivism view on the economic and environmental benefit of e-Cycling solar panels, key policy considerations for untapped potentials in renewable energies, and a detailed look at current case studies on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Mekong Countries strategic climate adaptation shift to renewable energies as a mechanism to reduce their carbon emission and footprint.
鈥淎n important aspect of this faculty externship opportunity is to translate my Jefferson Science Fellowship connections into tangible research opportunities for our students such as Donavyn Mosley,鈥� shared Dr. Wicker. Donavyn, a junior biology major, is a research assistant (RA) in Dr. Wicker鈥檚 research group and is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) HBCU-UP Implementation Grant , 鈥淧reparing the Pipeline of Next Generation STEM Professionals.鈥�
鈥淲e are working collaboratively to write a review article on various recycling methods highlighting differences in solar cell chemistries and possible policies to enhance global e-Cycling environmental and economic impact.鈥�
Dr. Wicker was invited to speak to the State鈥檚 Bureau of Energy after his impactful 鈥淪olar Panel Repurposing鈥� presentation for the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Foreign Assistance 101 working group meeting held on May 31. As a result of these two presentations, he was recruited as a mentor for the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund. Dr. Wicker will mentor researchers at a start-up company to further develop a proposal for building an automated manufacturing facility to recycle solar panels in Vietnam.