U.S. educational institutions have helped our country be a world leader for well over 100 years. Yet, now, as ASU President Michael Crow has consistently argued in his vision for ASU as a New American University, our educational institutions must change if the U.S. is to meet the energy challenges of the 21^st century. Scientists and engineers, business and policy leaders, and consumers will all need to learn new frameworks for understanding energy and its broader societal and environmental contexts to become effective partners in energy change. ASU is leading the way in this educational transformation, but we need a comprehensive energy education effort across many schools and colleges to prepare the state’s leaders, professionals, and citizens to meet its future energy challenges.

Our goal for energy education is to prepare society for a transition to a more sustainable future, one that relies more on renewable energy and less on fossil and nuclear fuels. Understanding and addressing these changes will require bringing to various publics, business leaders, and legislators a fundamental understanding of energy and the complex mix of technological, scientific and social changes that such a transition will require.