A symposium to be hosted by the University of Colorado on Oct. 3 highlighting ongoing and proposed research efforts on renewable and sustainable energy will feature two free public talks by nationally known energy figures.
The first keynote speech, to be given at 9 a.m. in the University Memorial Center, room 235, by Professor Daniel Nocera of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is titled "Powering the Planet: The Challenge for Science in the 21st Century." Nocera is internationally known for his studies of energy conversion mechanisms in biology and chemistry, and his research has been featured on ABC's Nightline, NOVA and on National Public Radio.
The second talk at 3 p.m., also in the UMC room 235, by Michael Bowman is titled "25x25 - A National Goal for Renewable Energy." A farm owner in Wray, Colo., Bowman also is a National Steering Committee member for the group known as 25x25, whose goal is to help America obtain 25 percent of its energy from renewable resources -- including wind, solar energy and bio-fuels -- by the year 2025.
The UMC is located at Euclid Avenue and Broadway. Paid parking is available at the Euclid Autopark, located just east of the UMC.
Co-sponsored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, the symposium also will feature a poster session, for conference registrants only, on a wide range of existing and proposed renewable and sustainable energy projects in Colorado, said CU-Boulder Energy Initiative Faculty Interim Director Carl Koval. The goal is to help participants -- CU system faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and NREL researchers -- develop new collaborations to help solve the nation's energy woes, he said.
CU-Boulder's Energy Initiative was created last year to focus campus research attention on helping the United States transition from an economy that derives roughly 80 percent of its global energy consumption from fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas to one based on renewable and sustainable energy, said Koval.
Posters to be presented at the conference will include science and engineering topics, business opportunities, technology transfer, policy and legislation issues, and the social, philosophical and economic aspects of energy initiatives, Koval said. CU-Boulder researchers already are involved in a host of energy-related research, including bio-fuels development, hydrogen production from "splitting" water using sunlight and chemical reactions, and solar photon conversion systems.
For more information visit the symposium Web site at: ei.colorado.edu/events/fall_2006_symposium/index.html.