The physical world around us is full of symmetry that scientists use to describe the Universe using laws of conservation. Discovered by Emmy Noether in the early 20th century, the theory led to one of the most important ideas in Physics today: the conservation of energy. This describes how no energy is lost from a system – it simply interchanges from one form to another.

In this talk, Dr. Abigail Mechtenberg, International Sustainable Development Researcher with the Center for Sustainable Energy at Notre Dame (ND Energy) and Assistant Teaching Professor with the Department of Physics, will discuss the physics of energy conservation, energy resources, and the challenges of turning this into a useful form for society. She will identify many parts of the world without access to useful energy, leading to energy poverty, and the programs that are underway at Notre Dame and beyond to address world-wide energy poverty. 

Mother Theresa stated that poverty in our world is a basic result of not sharing resources, and it is, therefore, important that we work to ensure energy is available to all. 

After the talk, energy demonstrations will be in the gallery and students from the ESDD Lab will present their research from Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Haiti, as well as a research project with Harvard Medical School on electricity and global health care.

Sponsored by the Department of Physics

Downloads:
The Challenges of Energy Poverty Poster