The University of Notre Dame and the Notre Dame Energy Center will host engineers, scientists and state and national leaders responsible for formulating and implementing energy policy July 7 (Monday) at a conference in McKenna Hall. The event will focus on the future of energy research, its effect on society and the potential it bears for transformative change across Indiana and the nation.
Energy, Citizens, and Economic Transformation for Indiana and America also will explore Indiana's position in the world of energy, as well as the opportunities offered via developing and new technologies whether in advanced storage concepts, non-traditional and renewable power generation techniques, or methods to manage the carbon footprint.
Indiana is on the brink, said Joan F. Brennecke, Keating-Crawford Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of the Notre Dame Energy Center. We are already a leader in clean coal technologies and biofuels. What is equally as exciting is the fact that the state is poised to make contributions in more efficient vehicles, energy storage, emerging solar technologies, and utilizing wind resources. This conference represents a step toward creating active partnerships among universities, industry and policymakers across the Midwest and the country as we address ways to meet the ever-increasing demand for energy while balancing affordability and sustainability.
Featured presenters include keynote speaker Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., as well as Michelle V. Buchanan, associate laboratory director for physical sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Patricia M. Dehmer, deputy director of the Office of Science for the U.S. Department of Energy; Jay P. Gore, director of the Discovery Park Energy Center at Purdue University; Paul J. Mitchell, policy director for economic development, workforce and energy for the state of Indiana; Hratch G. Semerjian, president and executive director of the Council for Chemical Research; and Vinod K. Sikka, director of product development at Ross Technology-Oak Ridge. Brennecke also will present a talk.
Topics will cover a range of subjects including the challenges and opportunities in basic energy research, the economic impact of investments in basic research, and the link between energy, the economy, security and the environment.
The experience will close with a panel discussion featuring Paul W. Bohn, Notre Dames Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and professor of chemistry and biochemistry [moderator]; David Brenner, director of Innovation Park at Notre Dame; Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and chief operating officer of the Purdue Research Foundation; Brennecke; Dehmer; Semerjian and Sikka.
The conference is free but registration is required. For more information and a conference schedule, visit http://energycenter.nd.edu/enepolicy2008 .