DOE gives universities $25 million to foster ‘diversity’ in STEM fields

The Department of Energy just awarded almost $25 million in grants to universities for the purpose of fostering a “sustainable and diverse” workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, fields.

While the department said the grants will “lead to future career pathways” for underrepresented groups, one scholar described the project as a “misguided” waste of money.

The DOE grants entail about $24.8 million to seven universities, with purposes varying from the promotion of “experimental learning and recruitment of environmental science and engineering students” to the development of “a geospatial-artificial intelligence enhanced curriculum” for minority-serving institutions (MSIs), a department news release states.