Alignment with Pitt and SSOE
The goals of the Center for Energy align with both the University of Pittsburgh’s Plan for Pitt 2028 and the Swanson School of Engineering Strategic Plan, and the Center serves as the vehicle for a dedicated energy goal in each.
Plan for Pitt 2028
Primary alignment Pillar: It’s Possible at Pitt.
Goal 5.2: Power a healthy future
Reliable, secure, and affordable energy underlies healthy communities, from hospitals and clean water to the jobs and industries that sustain a region. The Center for Energy advances this goal by bringing Pitt’s expertise together to improve the reliability, security, and affordability of energy, by working with the region on the future of energy in our communities, and by preparing the workforce that will build and operate the energy system.
Additional alignment:
- Goal 5.4, Advance a digital future for everyone: the Center’s first crosscutting theme, data center and AI energy infrastructure, is about powering the digital future reliably and affordably.
- Pillar 2, We will propel scholarship, creativity and innovation: the Center increases research (2.1), elevates multi- and interdisciplinary discovery and collaboration (2.2), promotes innovation and tech transfer and commercialization (2.3), and expands corporate engagement (2.4) through its core centers, industry memberships, and the Energy Innovation Center.
- Pillar 1, We will cultivate student success: degrees, certificates, internships, and workforce pathways support excellence in academic programming (1.5) and strengthen post-graduate success (1.8).
- Pillar 3, We will be welcoming and engaged: community-rooted investment in the Lower Hill District and workforce partnerships increase engagement across the communities we serve (3.4).
Swanson School of Engineering Strategic Plan
Dedicated alignment. Pillar 2: Ignite Research and Innovation.
Priority 1: Foster a Culture that Leads to Large-Scale, Externally-Funded Research
Goal 1 (2.1.1): Pioneer a national flagship for energy solutions
The Swanson School’s plan names a national flagship for energy solutions as a goal in its own right, and the Center for Energy is the School’s vehicle for achieving it. By integrating core centers, an affiliated faculty program, and industry, RETI, and national laboratory partnerships, the Center positions Pitt to pursue and win large, externally funded initiatives from federal agencies, industry, and philanthropy, such as the NSF-backed RETI Consortium.
The Center also advances the other goals in this pillar:
- 2.1.2, Build and solidify collaborative research across core areas of distinction, through aligned core and collaborating centers and crosscutting themes.
- 2.1.3, Drive bold, high-reward research endeavors, through seed funding and a platform for faculty-proposed centers.
- 2.2.1 to 2.2.3, Establish a robust research operation, through shared Center staff, administration, and Energy Innovation Center laboratories that give faculty the support to launch new initiatives.
- 2.3.1 to 2.3.3, Encourage a climate of applied research and innovation, through industry partnerships, innovation programs, and spin-out pathways.
Supporting alignment across the other pillars:
- Pillar 1, Champion Student Success: flexible learning opportunities (1.1.1) through certificates and online programs such as the nuclear engineering M.S.; high-impact experiential learning (1.2.2) through internships and hands-on laboratories; and career pathways built with industry (1.3.1) through workforce partnerships and the RETI Consortium.
- Pillar 3, Spearhead Sustained Partner Engagement: a new model of corporate partnerships (3.1.2) through paid industry memberships, and meaningful connections with our local community (3.1.1) through the Energy Innovation Center in the Lower Hill District.
- Pillar 4, Mobilize Collective Excellence: leadership development (4.1.1) and accountable governance (4.3.2) through the Center’s Board of Directors and affiliated faculty program.
