Commercial and residential buildings in the U.S. consume 75% of the nation’s electricity and 40% of the nation’s total energy use, and account for 35% of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions. Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of buildings through energy efficiency and building electrification measures is key to meeting ambitious energy reduction and climate change mitigation goals. To help address the issue, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) funds and leads a variety of research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) activities, public-private partnerships, and workforce development activities.  

To ensure equitable benefits and access to these activities, BTO is working with the Minority Serving Institution (MSI) STEM Research & Development Consortium (MSRDC) to expand awareness, promote collaboration, and gather input to enhance BTO’s partnerships and collaboration with MSIs. 

MSRDC is seeking participants from U.S. minority-serving institutions to participate in a series of virtual events to learn about BTO opportunities and offer their individual feedback on programmatic offerings to both increase participation and become more responsive to MSI needs. 

Together these four virtual events are designed to create awareness of BTO programmatic opportunities and collect input. All sessions led by MSRDC will consist of information shared by BTO staff, followed by a feedback session led by MSRDC. 

We recognize that your time is valuable and greatly appreciate your participation and inputs. Individuals who attend both the briefing and interactive components of the event will receive a $100 honorarium. Individuals may elect to participate in multiple events and be compensated for each event attended.  

During this session, participants will hear from BTO program staff about programs and resources designed to support place-based learning and workforce development activities, as well as about current and upcoming opportunities for partnership. 

The discussion portion will focus on providing the MSRDC with feedback on the opportunities and identifying communication strategies and institutional needs to increase MSI participation. 

In the final session, staff will discuss opportunities for student advancement both within DOE and with outside entities.  

Participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback on these opportunities to improve access, increase participation, and suggest ideas for additional resources and outreach.