Yet another plaintive email just arrived, from a friend in the energy business desperately seeking new energy-savvy employees. The demand for energy-knowledgeable people vastly exceeds the supply, and many energy jobs are sitting vacant.

Is this merely a short-term demand/supply imbalance? I think not. Investment funds are flowing into energy businesses, innovative energy policies are popping up all over the globe, and new energy challenges arrive all the time. Just last month, for example, Kansas decided to not allow construction of two planned new coal-burning power plants – leaving the state scrambling to meet future electricity needs. Will renewables and efficiency suffice? Trained energy practitioners and researchers, who can assess energy issues from multiple perspectives, can help find the answer.

In my new position, I’ll be working to develop energy curricula that will give our students have the skills and knowledge to meet society’s energy challenges. First on my to-do list is to launch new energy certificate programs for undergraduate and graduate students. After that, I’d like to explore professional/non-degree programs that could provide energy knowledge to Colorado companies and, via distance learning technologies, wider audiences as well. Other ideas I’ll be pondering include whether CU should offer a formal energy degree, how CU can work with other Universities in Colorado on energy education, and how to make interdisciplinary education work in a University organized around disciplines. The long-term goal, however, remains clear: establish CU-Boulder as a leader in energy education. To that goal, I welcome your suggestions, ideas, and comments: email me at komor@colorado.edu or stop by my office at 1333 Grandview, room 210.

-Paul Komor