Schenectady, NY, February 18, 2023 – Dozens 
of students, parents, community, and government leaders from the Schenectady/Troy area came together today for the ECG Generation Fusion Pilot Program presentation day showcasing students’ fusion projects. The first cohort of 5th grade students took part in the afterschool STEM-based program learning about climate, clean energy, and fusion energy.
ECG’s pilot workshops make the connection between climate change and mitigation creating an early understanding of fusion’s value, along with renewables, to disrupt our dependence upon fossil fuels. Through the use of STEM, the workshops inspire these students to think about themselves as valuable to a hope-filled future. We hope that these Paige Elementary 5th graders will continue to find their experiences with ECG valuable to their future scholastic opportunities, as our growing need for clean energy knowledge will lead to many career opportunities in climate, and to the massive growth and needs of fusion and related industries. The Generation Fusion Program is a keystone of ECG’s fusion advance advocacy. Our direct educational mission is to ensure that all children graduate with the knowledge and skill sets necessary to building a national climate-focused workforce. Today, we all celebrate this amazing cohort of young students teaching us how and why fusion is an important climate energy solution.
Students in the program presented their fusion projects, sharing their experiences and demonstrating what they learned. Speakers, including U.S. Representative Paul Tonko, who represents New York’s 20th Congressional District and sits on the Congressional Fusion Caucus, and Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy, who said knowledge is power and the curiosity demonstrated by this group of students was inspirational. Nicole Marriner from Schenectady City School District, host of the program, expressed her support for the program. Jane Hotchkiss, President of ECG and Kayla Miller, Director of Education for ECG led the day’s event.
“I’m thrilled to join this wonderful event and celebrate this program that aims to bring awareness of the promise of fusion energy to a new generation of students. Fusion is a key piece of our efforts to find real, reliable solutions that can meet the needs of our modernized, renewable energy grids. Students in this program will graduate with a keen understanding of this potential, and will leave with the knowledge and skills to join our nation’s emerging clean energy workforce. My thanks to ECG for developing this exciting program, and I look forward to seeing the great things this first cohort of students will achieve.” Congressman Paul Tonko, New York’s 20th Congressional District
“Back when this all started I wondered if I was ready to learn about fusion. This group of amazing young scholars are preparing themselves to meet the demands in the changing world of technology. They have impressed me daily with their learning and their teamwork. It has been a pleasure to work with each and every one of them.” Nicole Marriner, Schenectady City School District
“As a world leading manufacturer of REBCO based high temperature superconductor, we are now heavily engaged in supplying our products for fusion energy technology development. The high temperature superconductor is considered an enabling material to achieve power generation through compact fusion reaction. We appreciate the excellent ECG Program in which we could, for the first time, showcase our superconductor to the local young students. It was fantastic to see how they are fascinated and inspired. We have our obligation to explore clean energy. We also have our responsibility to get the younger generation ready to face the challenges.” Yifei Zhang, Vice President of R&D and Applications, SuperPower Inc.
“These young fifth graders are our first fusion ‘astronauts’ in training. They and their generation, like my own children, face a climate changing world, which as adults today, we will not see. I believe we have an obligation to do all that we can to launch them with the knowledge and resources they will need. That is why we formed ECG – to advance fusion, because with fusion we have an energy source for a climate tolerant and equitable future, and with fusion knowledge today, we can offer our children hope.” Jane Hotchkiss, President and Co-Founder of Energy for the Common Good
“This is a positively charged intersection: connecting the spirit of innovation of New York’s Tech Valley with the promise of fusion energy, and driving that connection through the young people whose dreams of a cleaner planet will shape their future. Kayla Miller is an inspiration. With her leadership in the development of a fusion curriculum, channeled through Energy for the Common Good, we can bring fusion energy education to tomorrow’s leaders in New York, across the United States, and across the globe. ITER’s mission, to collaboratively build and demonstrate fusion for all of humanity, depends on its partner nations to spread understanding of fusion’s importance in our shared future.” Laban Coblentz, Head of Communication, ITER; ECG Board Member; and Founder Tech Valley Center of Gravity
“Creating the Generation Fusion Pilot Program for ECG has been an exciting experience. I am very proud of this first cohort of elementary school students from Schenectady and their receptivity to learn an advanced subject like this. My hope is that these students will spread the knowledge that they’ve gained about fusion, have confidence that viable climate solutions exist, know that they have options in the clean energy workforce, and ultimately feel like they have a say in their collective future. Our team at ECG is looking forward to creating more opportunities for students of all ages in the fusion energy space. This generation will reap the benefits of fusion and other emerging clean energy technologies, especially if they’re aware and prepared.” Kayla Miller, Director of Education, Energy for the Common Good
Generation Fusion is an education program introducing young minds to an emerging promising new energy technology – fusion. Fifth graders in the Schenectady School District learned first how Earth’s climate is changing and about the primary causes, then about energy, energy sources, and what clean energy is; and finally the students were introduced to fusion, learning about the reaction that happens in machines on Earth. The fifteen-day pilot was organized in cooperation with Paige Elementary School in Schenectady and culminated in today’s presentation day.
Generation Fusion identifies fusion as critical to global climate change and energy equity. The program is one of the building blocks we are creating at Energy for the Common Good. Fusion aware communities, like those we have met today in Schenectady, NY, will have the understanding needed to support fusion as part of our future clean energy economy. At its core, ECG is a trust-building organization, educating the public about why and how to mitigate the effects of climate change soon enough to make a difference. One of the ways ECG builds this trust is through STEM curricula engaging students directly. We offer knowledge alongside greater understanding of climate change realities. We hope that with it, students will demand education which empowers their future, so that when fusion energy is commercially available, it’s understood, and its workforce has the skills and public support needed to accelerate rapid fossil transition.
More information about Energy for the Common Good can be found at www.energycommongood.org.