Second Annual Great Issues in Energy Symposium: The Nuclear Option
Friday, April 9, 2010, 3:00–5:15pm
Spanos Auditorium
Reception immediately following
Free and open to the public
An informed view of societal energy challenges and possible responsive measures requires understanding nuclear energy and related issues. While construction of a new nuclear power plant has not been initiated in the United States in over a quarter century, the situation is far from static in light of technological advances, increasing impetus to address climate change, and developments elsewhere.
Presentations and Interactive Discussion Featuring:
Dr. Ernest Moniz
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, Director of the Energy Initiative, and Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professor Moniz' research contributions span theoretical nuclear physics and energy technology and policy. He was Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President (1995-1997), Under Secretary of Energy at the United States Department of Energy (1997-2001), and currently serves on President Obama's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology and Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Humboldt Foundation, and the American Physical Society and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Professor Moniz received the Seymour Cray HPCC Industry Recognition Award for vision and leadership in advancing scientific simulation and the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III for contributions to the development of research, technology, and education in Cyprus.
Dr. Joe Romm
Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
Climate expert, physicist, author, blogger, and editor of the blog ClimateProgress.org, Dr. Romm focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security through energy efficiency and green energy and transportation technologies. Senior positions he has held at the U.S. Department of Energy include Principal Deputy Assistant and Special Assistant for Policy and Planning. Romm's acclaimed books and articles include Hell and High Water: Global Warming—the Solution, the Politics, and What We Should Do and The Self-Limiting Future of Nuclear Power. His newest book is Straight Up: America's Fiercest Climate Blogger Takes on the Status Quo Media, Politicians, and Clean Energy Solutions. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science and was named to Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 People Who Are Changing America." In naming him to its list of 2009 "Heroes of the Environment," Time magazine called Romm "the web's most influential climate blogger."
Dr. Alex Glaser
Assistant Professor, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University
Professor Glaser is actively involved in research on technical aspects of nuclear energy use and related fuel-cycle technologies, and specifically on questions related to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. He has been an Advisor to the German Ministry of Environment and Reactor Safety and a member of a joint working group of the American Physical Society and the American Academy for the Advancement of Science on Nuclear Forensics. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Science and Global Security and a member of the Science & Global Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the research staff of the International Panel on Fissile Materials.
Partial support provided by the Abbot Technology Leaders Program (ATLP) and the Dartmouth Energy Collaborative.
For more information contact Judith.L.Durell@Dartmouth.edu.
Great Issues in Energy Symposium: CLIMATE
On April 2, 2009, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth presented the first annual Great Issues in Energy Symposium held on the Dartmouth campus.
Climate change resulting from burning fossil fuels and other human activities is widely thought to be underway and accelerating. Many anticipate catastrophic consequences if we do not make large changes to limit our impacts on climate. Motivating and enabling such change, however, represents a major challenge for both public policy and technology, and is thus a topic of intense debate and research in multiple intersecting societal and intellectual domains.
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Featured Speakers
- Jason Grumet, Founder and President of the Bipartisan Policy Center and Executive Director of the National Commission on Energy Policy
- Dr. James Hansen, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
About the Speakers
Jason Grumet has 20 years of experience working at the intersection of science, policy, and politics and was a senior advisor to the Obama campaign on energy and environmental issues. As president of the Bipartisan Policy Center, Jason oversees development of substance-based, bipartisan solutions through constructive argument and principled compromise in the areas of national security, health care, energy, transportation, and agriculture. Under his direction, the National Commission on Energy Policy released an influential report "Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy to Meet America's Energy Challenges" in 2004. Jason is a frequent witness at Congressional hearings and has made appearances on NBC News, CNN, MSNBC, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and National Public Radio. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and his Juris Doctorate from Harvard University.
James Hansen is one of the world's leading climate scientists with dozens of papers on the subject in top-tier journals. For over two decades, he has been active in understanding and projecting potential human impact on climate, as well as bringing these impacts to the attention of the public. A member of the American Academy of Science, Dr. Hansen is the recipient of many distinguished awards including the Leo Szilard Lectureship of the American Physical Society, Dan David Prize Laureate, Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal of the World Wildlife Fund, Riger Revelle Medal of the American Geophysical Union, John Heinz Environment Award, and the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award. He holds a Ph.D. in physics, M.S. in astronomy, and B.A. in physics and mathematics, all from the University of Iowa.