2018 Distinguished Lectures
This program is designed to bring nationally recognized experts from academia, industry, and government to Notre Dame to discuss best practices, new technologies, and policy developments in energy. Lectures focus on topics most important to faculty and students at Notre Dame.
During 2018, the following lectures were hosted by ND Energy:
Grid Energy Storage Technologies and the Future Electric Grid by Babu Chalamala, Sandia National Laboratories. He presented trends in grid modernization and discuss gaps in technology and implementation of energy storage in the grid infrastructure.
Casa Pueblo’s Energy Insurrection in Puerto Rico brought Arturo Massol-Deya, Executive Director of Casa Pueblo, to campus. He shared the story of one town’s fight for energy independence in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and their plans to achieve 50% energy generation at the point of consumption with solar panels and independent microgrids by 2027.
Kodiak, Alaska: How an Energy Co-Op Went 100% Renewable was presented by Darron Scott, CEO of the Kodiak Electric Association. He explain how Kodiak Island has generated nearly 100% of its power from renewable energy sources without increasing rates to its members and local communities.
Renewable Energy Driven Non-equilibrium Chemistry: Plasma Chemistry as the Special Case was presented by Dr. Richard van de Sanden, director of the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER). During his visit, Professor van de Sanden explained that non-equilibrium chemistry, driven by the excitation of internal states of molecules, is a broader class of selective chemistry, a chemistry enabled by the availability of renewable energy in the form of electricity.
For more information or to get involved, contact Anne Berges Pillai, Education and Outreach Associate Program Director, at 574-631-9106 or apillai@nd.edu.