The University will launch a new research campaign at the start of 2015 focusing on energy, said Ernie Ballard, director of media relations at the University.
The Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Research and Economic Development are heading up the  “LSU Power Players” energy campaign. 
LSU Power Players is the most recent research campaign since the University’s “Committed to the Coast” initiative in 2013, a campaign focused on coastal research at the University.
Kalliat T. Valsaraj, University vice chancellor for research and economic development, said conventional and renewable energy are some of the University’s strategic focal areas, and he hopes the campaign will continue for several years beyond 2015. 
“It’s a campaign to explain to people what LSU is doing in this area,” Valsaraj said. 
Dean of engineering Richard Koubek said the campaign will focus on traditional forms of energy like oil and gas but will also research wind power and other forms of sustainable energy. 
Ballard said the energy campaign will tie into the new faculty hires and research opportunities presented in the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy Fund.
The WISE Fund provides $40 million to higher education institutions across the state to help science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs prepare graduates for high-demand jobs. 
The WISE Fund specifies the hiring of 26 new tenure-track faculty positions in departments ranging from Health to Computer and Information Technology. 
According to Section 5 of the WISE Fund’s implementation plan, “the additional tenure track faculty at LSU will have an impact on the research productivity in areas that align with the State’s priority needs.”
Koubek said the new faculty will conduct research alongside existing University employees. 
“Fifty-five of our 120 faculty are doing research in the energy area,” Koubek said. 
Valsaraj said most professors conducting research in energy studies are in the technological fields supported by the WISE Fund.
“It is natural that a lot of the new investments will go into these areas,” Valsaraj said. 
Though professors write the proposals and lead the projects, Valsaraj said both graduate and undergraduate students play critical roles in executing research.  
Valsaraj said the Office of Research and Economic Development will also work closely with LSU Discover, an undergraduate research program open to University students since the beginning of the Fall 2014 semester. 
Koubek stressed the importance of energy to the state and Louisiana’s job market.
“If you look at the companies that hire and the core expertise of our faculty, energy is a driver across the board,” Koubek said.