To answer the challenges America faces against transitioning from fossil fuel energy to a renewable grid, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) is coordinating amongst each college and university to put the best and brightest forward for energy.

This week, NASULGC announced the launching of their Energy Initiative Advisory Committee, a group of 15 universities and college faculty such as the Elsa A. Murano, president of Texas A&M University and former CFO of the U. S. Department of Energy and current Science Advisor at the University of California, Michael Telson.

The committee will lead research efforts at respective schools to increase the technologies available for solving the energy crisis. The committee will also be involved in a considerable amount of advocacy work with Congress, the public, and funding organizations to catapult the funding for university and college research forward.

It is encouraging to see universities and colleges advising Congress. Doing so brings science back into decision-making, where politics had recently reigned. Along with organizations such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, the university committee can provide congressional committees and advisory boards with information on the progress of research and where and how research dollars are being spent.

Congress should feel more confident in making decisions concerning technology and energy policy and forgot previous steps: hire outside organizations to setup shop, find funding, and then research the problem for another five years.

Universities and colleges have the infrastructure, and their research leaders are already engrossed in what is and is not working in current technologies. With this plan, there will be less chance of frivolous funding of programs that will not address the energy needs of America.

Let’s hope that NASULGC, which was founded in 1887, can make inroads with Congress that are more on the scale of proactive actions and not on the scale of distrust of science as America saw in the last administration.