Applications invited for the 2024 Mason-Maryland Energy and Climate-Tech Innovation Policy Boot Camp for Early Career Researchers!
Application due date: February 20, 2024
Boot camp dates: June 2-7, 2024
Boot camp location: Washington, D.C.
George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and the University of Maryland’s Center for Global Sustainability are pleased to invite applicants to participate in their 2024 energy and climate-tech innovation policy “boot camp” for early career researchers. The Mason-Maryland boot camp’s main purpose is to strengthen researchers’ understanding of how energy and climate-tech policy is made, so their research has greater impact on real-world clean energy and climate innovation outcomes. It is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
A central feature of the boot camp will be face-to-face discussions with key players shaping the energy and climate-tech policy landscape in the United States. These discussions will span Congress, the executive branch, international organizations, NGOs, businesses, and other players. The 2024 event will build on the success of prior boot camps in 2019 and 2022. The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Energy Program will partner with Mason and Maryland to assist in the creation of a high-quality program.
Professor David M. Hart of the Schar School is the boot camp’s director. Kathleen M. Kennedy of the Center for Global Sustainability, a 2022 boot camp participant, is the boot camp’s co-director. A distinguished panel of scholars serve as the boot camp’s advisory committee.
Researchers with a background in any discipline who meet these three qualifications are invited to apply:
- Earned a Ph.D. in 2014 or later;
- Published research in the open literature on energy and climate innovation; and
- Actively pursuing a research program in an academic setting.
Female, African-American, and Hispanic researchers are particularly encouraged to apply. Researchers from outside the United States are welcome to apply but must describe a research program that includes U.S. energy and climate-tech policy issues.
The boot camp will be held in Washington, D.C., from June 2 to June 7, 2024. It will be an immersive experience. All participants must participate throughout the week. Applicants are asked not to apply unless they can make a full commitment to participate for the entire week.
Thanks to generous support from the Sloan Foundation, the Schar School will cover all expenses for the boot camp, including participants’ travel, food, lodging, and local transportation.
To apply, please send the following two items to climatec@gmu.edu:
- A statement of 750-1,000 words that describes your interests and qualifications; and
- A curriculum vitae.
In addition, each applicant must be recommended by a researcher who is familiar with the applicant’s work. The recommendation should briefly describe the applicant’s accomplishments and potential future contributions to the field of energy and climate innovation policy and assess how the applicant would benefit from the boot camp. The letter should be submitted directly by the recommender to climatec@gmu.edu, indicating the name of the applicant in the subject line.
The selection criteria will be:
- Quality of research;
- Potential to gain from participation; and
- Diversity across disciplines, issues, methods, and demographic groups.
Completed applications, including the recommendation letter, must be received by 11:59 PM ET on February 20, 2024. Applicants will be notified of the decision on March 4, 2024.