Public lectures at 3:30 pm followed by reception
Location: Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union Building, UMASS
Free and open to all

Wednesday, September 27
Energy for the Future: Challenges and Opportunities

Nathan S. Lewis
George L. Argyros Professor and Professor of Chemistry, Caltech

Dr. Nathan Lewis, 2002 George L. Argyros Professor of Chemistry, has been on the faculty at the California Institute of Technology since 1988, and has served as Professor since 1991. He   has also served as the Principal Investigator of the Beckman Institute Molecular Materials  Resource Center at Caltech since 1992. From 1981 to 1986, he was on the faculty at Stanford, as  an assistant professor from 1981 to 1985 and a tenured Associate Professor from 1986 to 1988.  Dr. Lewis received his Ph.D in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Lewis has been an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, and a  Presidential Young Investigator. He received the Fresenius Award in 1990, the ACS Award in  Pure Chemistry in 1991, the Orton Memorial Lecture award in 2003, and the Princeton  Environmental Award in 2003. He has published over 200 papers and has supervised  approximately 50 graduate students and postdoctoral associates. His research interests include  Light-induced electron transfer reactions, both at surfaces and in transition metal complexes.  Surface chemistry: photochemistry of semiconductor/liquid interfaces. Novel uses of conducting  organic polymers and polymer/conductor composites. Development of sensor arrays from these  polymers that use pattern recognition algorithms to identify odorants, mimicking the mammalian olfaction process.

Abstract
This presentation will describe and evaluate the challenges, both technical, political, and economic, involved with widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies.  First, we estimate the available fossil fuel resources and reserves based on data from the World Energy Assessment and World Energy Council. In conjunction with the current and projected global primary power production rates, we then estimate the remaining years of supply of oil, gas, and coal for use in primary power production.  We then compare the price per unit of energy of these sources to those of renewable energy technologies (wind, solar thermal, solar electric, biomass, hydroelectric, and geothermal) to evaluate the degree to which supply/demand forces stimulate a transition to renewable energy technologies in the next 20-50 years.  Secondly, we evaluate the greenhouse gas buildup limitations on carbon-based power consumption as an unpriced externality to fossil-fuel consumption, considering global population growth, increased global gross domestic product, and increased energy efficiency per unit of globally averaged GDP, as produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  A greenhouse gas constraint on total carbon emissions, in conjunction with global population growth, is projected to drive the demand for carbon-free power well beyond that produced by conventional supply/demand pricing tradeoffs, at potentially daunting levels relative to current renewable energy demand levels.  Thirdly, we evaluate the level and timescale of R&D investment that is needed to produce the required quantity of carbon-free power by the 2050 timeframe, to support the expected global energy demand for carbon-free power.  Fourth, we evaluate the energy potential of various renewable energy resources to ascertain which resources are adequately available globally to support the projected global carbon-free energy demand requirements.  Fifth, we evaluate the challenges to the chemical sciences to enable the cost-effective production of carbon-free power on the needed scale by the 2050 timeframe.  Finally, we discuss the effects of a change in primary power technology on the energy supply infrastructure and discuss the impact of such a change on the modes of energy consumption by the energy consumer and additional demands on the chemical sciences to support such a transition in energy supply.

Nathan Lewis PowerPoint Presentation

Tuesday, October 17
The Role of Biomass in America's Energy Future

Lee R. Lynd
Professor of Engineering and Adjunct Professor of Biology
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College

Lee Rybeck Lynd is a Professor of Engineering and Adjunct Professor of Biological Sciences at Dartmouth, and a Professor Extraordinary of Microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. He received a B.S. in Biology from Bates College, an M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and M.S. and D.E. degrees from the Thayer School of Engineering. He is a recipient of the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award and a two-time recipient of the Charles A. Lindbergh Award for his efforts to promote balance between technological progress and preservation of the natural and human environments. Professional activities include service as Associate Editor for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, member of a Presidential Advisory Committee on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Personal Vehicles, Organizing Committee member for the Annual Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Manager of the Link Foundation Energy Fellowship Program, Co-Leader of a project entitled The Role of Biomass in America's Energy Future, and consultant to industry and government. Lynd has authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 5 patents.

Abstract

Selected results will be presented from a near-complete, multi-institution project entitled "The Role of Biomass in America's Energy Future", which seeks to identify scenarios in which biomass provides a significant fraction of energy services and to recommend policies that foster this outcome while honoring sustainability and environmental objectives. Two-dozen mature cellulosic biomass processing scenarios (ASPEN models) are under development, featuring production of ethanol, power, FT fuels, hydrogen, methane, and feed protein in various combinations. Working hypotheses will be presented regarding feedstock and product combinations that are - and are not - particularly promising from the point of view of various metrics. Our results suggest that both the overall attractiveness of biomass processing as well as the attractiveness of several specific product combinations increase markedly when viewed in the context of mature technology as compared to current technology. In particular, we project that some mature processing technology scenarios will have overall efficiency (heating value of products/heating value of biomass) as high as 75% and will be economically competitive with conventional energy carriers at prices seen in recent years. The sufficiency of biomass resources in relation to meeting needs for large-scale energy services such as transportation will also be addressed in some detail.

Lee Lynd PowerPoint Presentation

Monday, October 30

The Offshore Wind Collaborative: Meeting the Challenges Facing Deep-Water Offshore Wind Energy Generation

Greg C. Watson
Vice President for Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy,
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Greg Watson has worked as the Director Educational Programs at Second Nature, the director of The Nature Conservancy’s Eastern Regional Office, and as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture. From 1995 to 1999 Greg Watson served as Executive Director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. He is currently taking the lead role on the Offshore Wind Collaborative working with the U.S. Department of Energy and GE. Greg Watson now serves on the board of directors of Ocean Arks International and the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture. He attended Tufts University for Civil Engineering and has developed a self-directed program in Environmental Design Science at Campus-Free College in Boston.

Abstract

For the past year or so officials at ISO New England, who are responsible for managing the electric grid that supplies the six New England states with electricity, have been warning anyone who will listen that the region is facing a potentially catastrophic energy crisis. Massachusetts is particularly vulnerable.  Over the years, the commonwealth has becoming increasingly dependent on natural gas as the fuel of choice for generating electricity and home heating.  It currently represents about 40% of the state’s energy portfolio. Offshore wind energy is one of the best options for Massachusetts to enhance both the quantity and quality of our energy mix and avoiding devastating blackouts.  Introducing significant amounts of indigenous wind energy into the regional grid with offshore wind farms offers many other benefits as well, including increased energy security, cleaner air and the creation of local jobs.

Sustainably tapping the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf’s vast wind resource will require addressing formidable engineering, environmental, economic, and policy challenges. The Offshore Wind Collaborative (OWC) is being formed to meet those challenges.  It represents a unique collaboration among a broad range of stakeholders brought together for the purpose of designing a comprehensive, anticipatory strategy for deploying economically competitive offshore wind energy systems off the New England coast within the next decade. OWC’s mission is inspired by the visions of William Heronemus. The University of Massachusetts’ Renewable Energy Research Laboratory (RERL) has played a crucial role in its development.

Greg Watson PowerPoint Presentation

Monday, November 13
Are High Energy Prices Good for the Climate?

Richard G. Newell
Senior Fellow, Energy and Natural Resources Division
Resources for the Future

Richard G. Newell is a Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future, an independent nonprofit research organization located in Washington, DC. His research centers on the economics of markets and policies for energy and related technologies, particularly the cost and effectiveness of alternative policies and energy technologies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving other environmental and energy goals. Economic analysis of market-based policies, technology policies, and the influence of markets and policy on technology innovation and adoption are important themes in his work. During 2005-2006 he served as Senior Economist for energy and environment at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. He is currently a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee on National Science Foundation Innovation Inducement Prizes, the NAS Committee on Energy R&D, and the Editorial Board of the journal Energy Economics. He has published in major economics journals and has contributed articles for widely disseminated publications such as “Technological Change and the Environment” for the Handbook of Environmental Economics and “Economics of Energy Efficiency” for the Encyclopedia of Energy. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, master degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and undergraduate degrees in engineering and philosophy from Rutgers University.

Abstract:
This lecture will describe recent developments in energy markets, implications for the environment, and policy responses. We will confront several questions:

• What's causing high oil, gasoline, and natural gas prices and where are they headed?
• What are the implications for alternatives to oil, electricity generation, and the climate?
• What policies have been proposed and what are the lessons for sound policy decisions?

PDPs available for teachers.

The Lecture Series is cosponsored by The Environmental Institute, the Vice Provost for Research, the Colleges of Natural Resources and the Environment, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Engineering, and the School of Public Health at UMass Amherst.

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