Lehigh University's Stakeholder Engaged Equitable Decarbonized Energy Futures (SEED EF) program empowers Lehigh's graduate students to become future energy leaders who are equipped to develop effective, equitable, low-carbon, clean-energy solutions.

Supported by the National Science Foundation's National Research Traineeship (NRT) Program, SEED EF offers a unique opportunity for Lehigh graduate students to work with community partners and faculty and peers across the University on cutting-edge research in this rapidly-emerging space.

Focused on addressing broad community energy challenges, the program engages Lehigh's Master's and PhD students to develop energy systems and technologies that improve efficiency and sustainability. A key strategy for developing these solutions involves students directly engaging diverse stakeholders—industry leaders, community members, and government representatives—to help define, develop and implement energy solutions.

The SEED EF program aspires to:

  • Embrace the relevance of stakeholder perspectives, equity frameworks, and interdisciplinarity in energy decarbonization research
  • Advance graduate students' skills to plan, conduct, execute, and communicate stakeholder-engaged, interdisciplinary research toward equitable decarbonization
  • Increase the participation of Women, Black, and Hispanic populations in the energy workforce
  • Establish a novel, scalable, and sustainable graduate program built on this training model that integrates Lehigh’s interdisciplinary research capacity and a range of external partnerships to further sustainability, the environment, and energy decarbonization.

 SEED EF draws students primarily from these academic departments at Lehigh:  Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering   |   Civil and Environmental Engineering   |   Earth and Environmental Sciences   |   Economics   |   Electrical and Computer Engineering   |   Industrial and Systems Engineering   |   Mechanical Engineering   |   Political Science   |   Population Health

SEED EF also draws students from these specialized master's programs at Lehigh: Energy Systems Engineering   |   Environmental Policy   |   Public Policy   |   Public Health

Program Highlights

  • Strong cohort with collaborative focus
  • Emphasis on diverse stakeholder engagement 
  • Applied research for energy solutions that are effective and equitable 
  • Internships during year 2 of graduate study
  • Meaningful applied research outcomes via active learning
  • Advising and mentor support tailored to each student
  • Professional development opportunities and leadership seminars
  • Financial support 
  • Best practices for trainees in impact-driven research teams
  • NSF NRT Fellows receive a laptop at the start of training