Recipient Organization
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
STILLWATER,OK 74078
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Rising interest in alternative energy sources has heightened the need for training students in the economics of bio-energy economics. Oklahoma State University is well poised to capitalize on this need, having faculty with extensive expertise in traditional energy industries as well as agriculture production. Oklahoma State University has been a leader in the development of bio-fuels and bio-fuel refineries using inputs such as switchgrass. Three Ph.D. Fellows will successfully complete a minimum of 60 semester credits in graduate courses in economics including series of core courses in bio-energy economics. Fellows will complete an internship in the field of bio-energy economics, choosing from several internship opportunities. Fellows will work on dissertation topics with faculty in fields such as plant and soil sciences, environmental sciences, or biosystems and agricultural engineering. Unique or special aspects of this program includes a core curriculum devoted to bio-energy economics, the opportunity for Fellows to taken an internship with the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center, which combines Oklahoma's comprehensive higher education institutions with the world-class plant and agricultural research of the Noble Foundation. Fellows will also work with researchers at Oklahoma State University's Food and Agricultural Products Center who are working with private industry to commercialize alternative energy sources. Fellows will also have the opportunity to teach undergraduate courses in agricultural economics and assist with and participate in the extension education programs associated with the economics of alternative energy.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The goal of the program is to (a) recruit three Fellows to enroll in the Agricultural Economics Ph.D. program at Oklahoma State University; (b) have them specialize in bioenergy economics research; (c) successfully complete the Ph.D. program; and (d) publish research results in peer reviewed publications. Another implied goal is that the Fellows are successful in acquiring skills essential for a productive career as a professional agricultural economist. An additional aspect of the program is that the Fellows, by working cooperatively with agronomists and engineers, will gain an appreciation for and an understanding of the science and engineering problems of bioenergy. The Fellows will be expected to learn how to work as members of interdisciplinary teams and how to effectively communicate with production scientists. The ultimate objective of the program is that each of the three Fellows will graduate, and use their acquire skills and training to improve the allocation of the planets scarce resources, especially energy resources, among competing uses.
Project Methods
Three Fellows will be recruited to the Ph.D. program at Oklahoma State University. They will complete requirements for a Ph.D. degree. In addition to the focused core of courses on bioenergy economics, two key features of the curriculum are a Special Problems Course in Bioenergy Systems that will cover topics specifically related to bioenergy systems and economics. To put course knowledge into practice, the curriculum requires an internship in bioenergy economics. The project directors will work with the students to select from among several internship opportunities. Examples include the Plains Oilseed Products Cooperative (an Oklahoma-based company that produces oil from canola, sunflower, and cotton), Coskata Inc. and General Motors (a company that produces ethanol based on research and technology developed and licensed by the Oklahoma State University Biofuel's Team), and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, OK (a member of the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center). After completion of core coursework, Fellows must complete written examinations to test comprehensive understanding of tools, concepts, and principles developed in the graduate program. Written comprehensive examinations are administered and evaluated by the Departmental Graduate Examination Committee. Exams are given for microeconomics and quantitative methods. An oral qualifying examination is then completed as soon as possible after the written comprehensive exanimation has been successfully completed. The qualifying examination, which may cover the entire area of the student's graduate study, is administered and evaluated by the student's advisory committee. A final oral examination, which is administered by the student's advisory committee, concludes the doctoral program and is given upon completion of the student's doctoral thesis. The Ph.D. dissertation topics for Fellows will be part of the ongoing research program on alternative energy being conducted by faculty in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University. Topics will involve working with other disciplines such as food science, biosystems and agricultural engineering, natural resource ecology and management, plant and soil sciences, or with industry. Research topics will build on the pre-existing multidisciplinary teams focused on developing and evaluating alternative energy sources. The program is designed to enable the Fellows to become successful professional agricultural economists. They will be expected to conduct publishable applied research. The Fellows will be expected to participate in our professional associations including the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, the Western Agricultural Economics Association, and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association. Candidates will be expected to use the professional associations to present research results either as selected papers, selected posters, or invited papers at one or more meetings of these associations. Footnotes to these papers will acknowledge the support of the NNF program.