Comments on: What To Study For Alternative Energy Major?

By: zeek

zeek — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:11:01 +0000

I think a person could spend a life time just studying chemistry . Consider electromagnetic radiation and atomic spectra . You could be our planets next great inventor.

By: Polaris

Polaris — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:43:42 +0000

You should study geography. That’s what I did and that sparked my interest in alternative energy. Geography will show the spatial process of all the available natural resources that can create renewable energy.

By: MTRstude

MTRstude — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:22:22 +0000

Researchers I’ve spoken to in alternative energy seem to make more or less the same amount of money as researchers in other fields.
If you end up researching a ‘soft’ subject like geography or economics then you might be able to do some research into alternative energy – but it would be limited to studying things like its effect on society, and policies to encourage it.
Any hard science, maths or engineering will give you the grounding you need for ‘proper’ research into the technology.
Biologists can work on biofuels, chemists on biofuels and processing for things like solar panels. Engineers can work on anything and whilst a physics degree makes you particularly suited to solar power (provided you take the right modules in thermal & condensed matter/solid state physics), it gives you the tools to go into other areas too.