Instructor: Varun Rai
Unique Number: 62710 (graduate students) / 62385 (undergraduates)
Day & Time: Th 5:15 – 6:15 pm
Room: Avaya Auditorium, POB 2.302
In an effort to provide a multi-disciplinary platform for UT faculty and students to interact on the most pressing energy issues facing our world, the Energy Institute sponsors the UT Energy Symposium (UTES), which enters its seventh semester in Fall 2014. The UTES serves as a “convener” for the campus community, uniting students interested in energy issues with faculty and others working on sustainable energy security.
Students who register for the symposium receive one credit hour for the 15-week seminar course, which is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Ongoing themes for UTES include climate change policy, innovation and diffusion of energy technologies, low-carbon technology options and status, and behavioral aspects of energy consumption.
The symposium will be held in the Avaya Auditorium (POB 2.302) from 5:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. Refreshments will be served in the ACES Connector Lobby at 4:45 p.m., followed by a 45-minute presentation and a 15-minute Q&A session.
Each session of the UTES will be video recorded and posted on the Energy Institute’s website – see links below.
Schedule of Speakers – Fall 2014
Click here to view this semester’s presentations.
September 4 Cris Eugster, Executive Vice President, Chief Generation and Strategy Officer at CPS Energy, will talk about the Importance of Fuel Diversity in the Energy Generation Mix.
September 11 Steve Puller, Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, gives a talk on Impacts of Adoption of a More Fuel Efficient Vehicle Fleet.
September 18 Panel discussion with Clay Butler (The Butler Firm), Colin Meehan (First Solar), and Spivey Paup (E.ON Renewables) on Renewables in Texas: Costs, Project Development, and Policy Issues.
September 25 Fred Beach, Assistant Director, Energy Institute will speak on Feeding the Dragon: Energy in China.
October 2 Joanna Lewis, Associate Professor at Georgetown University, will give a talk on China’s Role in Global Clean Energy Technology Development.
October 9 Kiran Lakkaraju, Senior Member of Technical Staff at the Sandia National Laboratories, will talk about interdisciplinary Energy Research at the Intersection of Computer Science, Decision Sciences, and Complex Systems.
October 16 Energy Open House: Please join us for pizza and a conversation on energy and environmental issues.
October 23 Paul Hudson, Managing Partner, Stratus Energy Group, LLC, will give a talk titled Disrupting the Power Sector: Overpowering Inertia and Incrementalism.
October 30 Mike Jackson, Partner at The Westly Group, will talk on Effective Approaches for Funding Cleantech: Are We There Yet?
November 6 Technological and Commercial Innovations in Distributed Energy Generation:
- Charlie Upshaw, a PhD student with the Webber Energy Group, will talk on “Modeling Peak Load Reduction and Energy Consumption Enabled by an Integrated Thermal Energy and Water Storage System for Residential Air Conditioning Systems in Austin, Texas.”
- Erik Funkhouser, a researcher with the Energy Systems Transformation group at UT, will talk about “Commercial Innovations in Community-scale Distributed Generation.”
November 13 David Allen, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, will talk on Methane Emissions in the Natural Gas Supply Chain.
November 20 Gus Lott, Senior Engineer, YarCom Inc., will speak on Cybersecurity in the Electricity Grid.
If you need an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Christa Hopkins, who can be reached at 512-475-8447, no later than five (5) business days prior to the event.
Click to view the 2013-2014 UTES presentation archive.
Click to view the 2012-2013 UTES presentation archive.
Click to view the 2011-2012 UTES presentation archive.