LARAMIE - Two years after the state gave an initial $12.5 million to create the new School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming, the program seems to be living up to expectations.

The university started the new school in 2006 in an attempt to make Wyoming and the university a destination for leading sustainable energy research and training and help the state's heavily energy-reliant economy continue to boom.

Wyoming is the nation's largest producer of coal and uranium. It is also a major U.S. producer of natural gas, coal-bed methane, petroleum and wind energy.

Mark Northam, the school's director, said although Wyoming is a major energy-producing state, it has yet to be a draw for energy resource research and high-paying engineering jobs.

He said the state created the School of Energy Resources to develop new energy technology and turn more qualified students into the energy industry so the state could fully capitalize on its rich energy commodities.

Although the fledgling program still relies on the university's other programs for faculty and graduate students, UW President Tom Buchanan said the school has already exceeded his expectations for where it would be two years after starting.

"I think we are ahead of where we want to be," he said.

Northam said the program has received $9.5 million in direct gifts from energy companies, including Encana, Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP. The state has matched those gifts with an additional $9.5 million.

Northam said most of the money has been used for building research facilities. The school already has six different fully-operational research centers that research oil extraction, renewable energy technology, carbon sequestration and management, wind energy, and coal-bed methane.

One center is a partnership with General Electric to research coal gasification.

Northam said there will be two additional research centers developed this year and another to be developed after the school hires more faculty.

The $12.5 million initial state funding for the program was earmarked for hiring 12 new distinguished faculty members for the School of Energy Resources. Northam said the school will have six of those faculty members on board by the end of the year.

"We are making really good progress," he said.

Northam said the school doesn't have its own student body yet but is receiving about five inquiries a week from prospective students about the possibility of enrolling in the school.

He said the first class of undergraduate students will be enrolling this fall.

Meanwhile, Northam said graduate students from nearly all of the university's other colleges, including Engineering and Business, have been doing research under the new school and will receive a School of Energy Resources designation on their diplomas.

"We're not doing this to create a new degree program," Northam said. "We are just trying to amass a curriculum that is reflective of the energy-related work force."

Northam said students at UW would be better prepared for careers in energy law, engineering, business and diplomacy because of the program.

UW Law School alumni Sen. Philip Nicholas, R-Laramie, supported the school's start up two years ago. He said the best UW graduates going into the energy industry sometimes do want to stay in Wyoming, but the best-paying jobs are in places like Houston and Denver.

Nicholas said by creating a strong School of Energy Resources program, the state will open up high-paying job opportunities to residents in energy research.

That way, he said the industry would receive a highly-qualified work force and Wyoming would benefit more from the energy boom.

"We're a big energy state and we want to help out the industry," he said. "But, I'm not prepared to give them tax relief, so I'd rather give young people the opportunities."