A study of public perceptions of energy issues and technology for the development of engineering education activities

Human use of fossil fuels has caused a dramatic shift in the earth’s environment, with global temperatures rising and ecosystem health declining. The need for the human species to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is apparent. This will be achieved by replacing conventional energy resources with sustainable alternatives, and by reducing overall energy consumption on both a personal and global scale. Citizens must be engaged and informed on energy issues in order to achieve the drastic changes required. This project studied public perceptions and understandings of energy issues and technologies through survey research, and developed five new engineering education activities to address knowledge gaps identified in the survey. These activities have been conducted with groups of students at OSU, revised based on student feedback, and will be made available to educators online