Town Hall on Ways to Reduce Equity Gaps in DOE Supported Fusion Energy Sciences Research and Education

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) - Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) is gathering

information on ways to increase Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), Black, Indigenous, People of Color

(BIPOC), and other historically marginalized groups’ participation in SC-sponsored research and training

programs. We acknowledge, as a community, that lack of an open and welcoming climate, diversity, and

inclusion contribute to equity gaps, and we are working to eliminate this for all demographics to better

the fusion energy and plasma science workforce. The first step is to bring in outside experts to study the

climate within the fusion energy and plasma science fields, while utilizing the diamond model [1]. In this

model, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) subject matter experts (SMEs), policymakers, FES

community decision-makers, and the marginalized will be fully vested and empowered to chart a course

for change. In this Town Hall, a DEI SME will present on evidence-based practices (EBPs) to improve the

climate within fusion energy and plasma science fields, followed by a discussion that will explore and

document paths our institutions can employ the recommended EBPs. Finally, a DPP DEI Organizing

Collective Committee (OCC) sponsored survey will be deployed to document current barriers to and

tools for success for increased impactful engagement in SC-sponsored research and training programs

by MSIs, BIPOC, and other historically marginalized students and faculty. Join the townhall here: 

https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItdu2vqT8iE7mBdhXgeEc5d2tDThFgCk0

[1] K. Young-McLear, S. Zelmanowitz, R. W. James, D. Brunswick, & T. W. DeNucci, Beyond Buzzwords

and Bystanders: A Framework for Systematically Developing a Diverse, Mission Ready, and Innovative

Coast Guard Workforce, (2021).