MIT engagement forum 1: Research collaborations to decarbonize the energy system

Co-presented by the MIT Office of the Vice President for Research and the MIT Energy Initiative

As MIT prepares to issue a new Plan for Action on Climate Change later this spring, it is important that we assess both progress to date and areas where new and more ambitious action is necessary. To that end, the Office of the Vice President for Research (VPR) is working with a variety of units throughout the Institute to solicit ideas for how MIT can enhance its actions to address climate change.

Engaging with entities outside of MIT–governments, companies, other universities, and NGOs–has been central to our strategy for making progress on climate. This is the first of two webinars that VPR will be co-hosting for members of our community to learn about and offer their thoughts on the benefits and challenges of working in collaboration with other organizations.

On March 18, MIT Energy Initiative Director Robert C. Armstrong will host a forum in which MIT researchers, former students, and representatives from some of the organizations currently collaborating with MIT will describe their experiences of working together to advance low-carbon energy research.

Agenda

11:00 am Introductory remarks

• Robert C. Armstrong, Director, MIT Energy Initiative; Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering

11:05 am Working together to achieve net-zero emissions

Renewable energy: Machine learning for predicting the longevity of offshore wind turbines

Speakers include:

• Beatriz Crisóstomo, Head of Global Innovation, Iberdrola
• Kalyan Veeramachaneni, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Laboratory for Information & Decision Systems

Energy systems: SESAME – Holistic modeling of pathways to net-zero carbon systems

Speakers include:

• Dan Cherney, Section Head of Emerging Energy Sciences, ExxonMobil
• Emre Gençer, Research Scientist, MIT Energy Initiative
• Jennifer Morris, Research Scientist, MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change

Nuclear power: Solving operational & maintenance problems for 21st century light water reactors

Speakers include:

• Jake Jurewicz, Manager of Corporate Strategy, Exelon
• Michael Short, Associate Professor, MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering

Audience Q&A

11:55 am Cooperating on research for next-generation technologies

Solar energy research

Speakers include:

• Miles Barr, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ubiquitous Energy
• Vladimir Bulović, Fariborz Maseeh Chair in Emerging Technology; Professor, MIT Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
• Joel Jean, Co-Founder, Swift Solar
• Massimiliano Pieri, Clean Tech Director, Eni Next
• Timothy M. Swager, John D. MacArthur Professor of Chemistry, MIT
• Anne White, Professor and Head, MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering

Fusion energy collaborations

Speakers include:

• Bob Mumgaard, CEO, Commonwealth Fusion Systems
• Massimiliano Pieri, Clean Tech Director, Eni Next
• Libby Wayman, Investor, Breakthrough Energy Ventures
• Anne White, Professor and Head, MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering
• Dennis G. Whyte, Hitachi America Professor of Engineering; Director, MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center

Audience Q&A

12:55 pm Closing thoughts

• Maria T. Zuber, Vice President for Research and E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics, MIT