Simply need to make more programs that exchange government service for education. Anything from America Corps to State Department to the current programs in DOD.

All of the men in my family (5 uncles and my Father) got their education courtesy of Montgomery GI bill. But obviously thats not for everyone, but exchanging peaceful civic service for grants seems to be a no brainer.

We need more physicists and engineers. We need to get our country out of the dark ages. I'm doing my part! I'd love to work in the energy sector once I'm done.

Was the text of this proposal changed after voting was opened?

The US has a National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) whose budget has been raked every year since Carter nationalized it. It would make sense to fully fund the lab - for once, and network the other REL research activities creating a network much like AT&L's programs and DARPA. Not much thought needs to go into this because what they have on the drawing boards and on shelves can benefit the nation.

Yes!! We still have the best advanced education network in the world, but not for long! We must retain talented workers, no matter where they are from. Business incubators for immigrants and encouragement for the highly educated to stay, to invent, to produce and to train the next generation are all key to staying competitive with China and India.

ARPA-E was signed into law in Aug 2007. The agency will be a lean and aggressive force in developing advanced energy technologies. The new administration should stand up the agency as soon as possible so at least the infrastructure is put in place within 6 months of inauguration.

We have allowed our focus to leave this critical and viable area that our country is known for. We must place importance back on the sciences, math and other critical thinking skills or we will be left behind.

ZLets not have a repeat of the Carter years. Lets get going!

This admin has the chance to turn things around with the R & D in this country.... China will be outpacing us if we encourage foreign students that school here to stay here..

I think the free market can only go so far. There a difference between providing jobs, and fostering an environment where people actually pursue engineering and technical jobs, which is what America needs to do. Imagine our country if we were not only free from dependency on foreign oil, but a leading inovator in the sciences, what good we could do for the world.

As much as I would like to see this, I think it is better to let the free market operate. It might be better to instead ensure high standards, and ensure that the ones who graduate are highly qualified. Highly qualified people will lead to high salaries and high salaries will attract the best, whether women, men, nationals or foreigners.

innovation has always been the driving force of america. it seems that we have forgotten that. we lost on the combustion engine. asia has destroyed the big 3. but if we invest in R&D we can make the next gen cars, next gen cures, and next gen tech. a child might think japan invented cars, TV's, and every other gadget. but americans did then lost the manufacturing of them.

John: We can attract the worlds best students and make sure that more of them are coming from the U.S. at the same time.

jps you at least are thinking about the USA, I have nothing against foreign nationals, but we need to get our education level up and find a way to finance the really good students and get them thru school, and leave big business out of it they only want the bottom line on profit.

c8503: The problem would be better solved by improving the quality of the United States public school system, by, for example, using 5% of the defense budget to halve class sizes, build more schools to house the doubled classes, put teacher salaries on par with upper-middle management salaries, and waive state and community college tuitions. Let U.S. students compete in U.S. universities!

We need to ease legislation on work permits for foreign nationals, especially ones who complete higher education in the states. I just completed a master's program where 50% of the students grew up and went to undergraduate school in Asia. Almost every one of them went home to work because U.S. employers didn't want to deal with the extensive process of getting them visas. THIS HAS TO CHANGE!!!

I say invest in nano technology as when it absorbs radiation(sunlight) it produces electricity all on it's own.

I applaud the goal, though I would caution against just assigning the responsibility to just DOE, or DARPA. Good ideas for implementing energy schemes might come from USAg, DOE, DARPA, NSF, Commerce Dept or any number of agencies.

We need <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_sulfur_battery">lithium sulfur batteries</a> on both the small scale for portable consumer electronics, and the large scale for storing wind power for periods of calm.

I have noticed that DARPA's Grand Challenge for AI has had a lot of success given the relatively limited funds invested. Since energy security is every bit as important as military security, I suggest a similar approach with multiple grand challenges. Such as: energy storage density in batteries, solar conversion efficiencies, light source efficiencies, etc.