BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M Energy Institute and the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science (TAMIDS) signed a formal agreement to update two current certificate programs and add a third, according to the Division of Research.

Under the agreement, the institutes plan to work on at least two major projects. One will upgrade the Energy Institute’s existing Master of Science in Energy and Certificate in Energy programs by adding a unit on “energy digitization,” the intersection between data science and the world’s energy sector. The other will develop a Certificate in Data Sciences and Energy program that the institutes will administer together.

Leadership from each institute signed a formal memorandum of understanding on Nov. 17, 2021. Under the agreement, the institutes may choose to work together on a series of educational and workforce-development offerings.

“Energy and data science are areas that are both undergoing rapid change,” said Nick Duffield, the director of the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science and the Royce E. Wisenbaker Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. “The partnership between TAMIDS and the Energy Institute will leverage the unique strengths of our research and education programs. I am looking forward to collaborating with the Energy Institute to drive interdisciplinary innovation.”

“The revolution that is taking place in both energy and data analytics poses new challenges and calls for innovative approaches to research and education,” said Stratos Pistikopoulos, the director of the Texas A&M Energy Institute and the Dow Chemical Chair in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. “Our two institutes at Texas A&M, through this joint academic program, are uniquely positioned to address them and provide a platform to educate and train the future leaders in the data science for energy space.”

The Energy Institute is jointly operated by Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). TAMIDS is jointly operated by Texas A&M, TEES, and Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Both institutes report to Texas A&M’s Division of Research.