2020 Highlights
Waste-to-Energy: Reimagining the Possibilities
The 3rd Annual ND Energy Research Symposium was held virtually on November 12 and 13, 2020, beginning Thursday afternoon with invited talks, followed by a panel discussion with Notre Dame faculty. The event resumed Friday afternoon with more talks and concluded with a poster session presented by Notre Dame postdoctoral scholars and graduate students.
The theme of Waste-to-Energy: Reimagining the Possibilities brought together research experts from Columbia University, University of Michigan, McMaster University, and Purdue University, and industry leaders from LanzaTech and Brightmark Energy. Presentations included current initiatives related to the following areas:
- Waste Carbon Resources and Technology
- CO2 Capture and Conversion
- Heat Harvesting and Redistribution
- Industrial Symbiosis at the Small-scale
- Upcycling Plastic Waste
- Turning Plastic Waste into Useful Products
The agenda below provides links to presentation details as well as some recordings.
ND Energy has hosted a research symposium annually since 2018, bringing together researchers, scholars, students, and sustainability professionals from academia, industry, and government to discuss some of the greatest challenges and opportunities in sustainable energy research and development facing the world today. View previous symposia here: 2019, 2018.
| 2020 Agenda, Presentation Details, and Recordings | |
| Thursday, November 12 | |
| 3:00 PM | Welcome and Introductions |
| 3:05 |
Overview of ND Energy Peter C. Burns, Director of ND Energy, Director of NNSA Actinide Center of Excellence, Henry Massman Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame |
| 3:20 | KEYNOTE: "Becoming CarbonSmart" by Rachel Brenc, Chief of Staff to the CEO, LanzaTech |
| 4:30 | "Towards Sustainable Energy and Materials: Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)" by Ah-Hyung (Alissa) Park, Lenfest Chair in Applied Climate Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering & Department of Chemical Engineering, Director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, Columbia University |
| 5:10 | "Using Industrial Symbiosis at the Small-scale to Increase Communities' Sustainability and Well-being" by José Alfaro, Assistant Professor of Practice, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan |
| 5:50 | Final Questions |
| 6:00 | BREAK |
| 6:30 |
Panel Discussion: Transforming Waste to Meet our Energy Needs, moderated by Jennifer Schaefer, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, featuring the following panelists:
|
| Friday, November 13 | |
| 1:00 PM | Welcome and Introductions |
| 1:05 | "Energy Research Cooperative: Integrated Community Energy and Harvesting Systems" by James Cotton, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Associate Director of the McMaster Institute for Energy Studies, McMaster University |
| 1:45 | "Converting Polyolefin (Plastic) Waste into Fuels" by Nien-Hwa Linda Wang, Maxine Spencer Nichols Professor of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University |
| 2:25 | KEYNOTE: "Using Technology and Innovation to Manage Plastic Waste and Turn it Back into Useful Products" by Bob Powell, President & CEO, Brightmark Energy |
| 3:35 | Final Questions |
| 3:45 | BREAK |
| 4:00 | Poster Session, presentations by postdoctoral scholars and graduate students at Notre Dame |
| 5:15 | Poster Awards and Closing Remarks |
For more information, contact Ginger Sigmon, Barbara Villarosa, or Koby Keck.