Dominion selects recipients to share $1.5 Million in education grants

From outdoor learning gardens to solar-powered cooling systems, this year’s Dominion educational grants will help fund a wide variety of programs engaging students of all ages in science, technology, engineering and math studies related to energy, the environment and workforce development.

For the 2015-16 academic year, more than 140 schools and educational institutions in 11 states and the District of Columbiawill share grants totaling $1.5 million from the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources.

“This year’s grants will support innovative programs teaching essential skills to young children as well as young adults,” saidHunter A. Applewhite, president of the Dominion Foundation. “There is a huge demand for STEM skills in today’s workplace and these marketable skills will be critical to the success of the energy industry, as well as our nation’s economy, for many years to come.”

Dominion’s K-12 Education Partnership will give 102 grants to K-12 schools and educational organizations that support the study of energy and the environment and STEM-related mini-grants. The Higher Educational Partnership will award 40 grants to college and post-secondary schools of up to $50,000 each to fund projects in energy, environmental studies, engineering and workforce development.

Examples of this year’s educational grants include:

• University of Maryland in College Park, Md., will be awarded $50,000 for students to model, design, fabricate and test a solar cooling system with the highest possible cooling performance, giving students a hands-on opportunity to solve an important, real-world engineering problem.
• Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., will receive a $40,000 grant to build a microgrid (a localized energy system) to support undergraduate, graduate and faculty studies and research on sustainable energy practices.
• Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, will be awarded $50,000 for a fuel cell technologies program and lab that exposes students to the science and engineering of efficient fuel cell technology that can convert natural gas into electricity with reduced carbon emissions.
• Sea Research Foundation, Inc., New London, Conn., will be awarded $10,000 for its “Where the City Meets the Sea” program reaching 1,125 K-12 students each year with environmental studies about conserving the natural world through classroom outreach, field research studies and visits to the Mystic Aquarium.
• Tucker County High School, Tucker, W.Va., will be awarded $10,000 for an expansion of its program to help its students prepare for STEM occupations related to energy and environmental protection by partnering and doing field research with state parks and other environmental organizations.

Nearly 400 grant applications were considered. Recipient schools and educational organizations are located in Connecticut,Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginiaand the District of Columbia.

Grants are given by the Dominion Foundation, philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, Inc. Dominion Resources is the parent company of Dominion Virginia/North Carolina Power, Dominion East Ohio, Dominion Hope, Dominion Transmission, Dominion Carolina Gas Transmission and Millstone Power Station in Connecticut.