Who makes decisions about our future energy system: scientists, engineers, company executives, government administrators, everyday citizens, or politicians? Or is it all of the above and even more?  It is practically impossible for any one person to have deep enough knowledge across all relevant domains of influence from science to technology to policy to markets, yet it is clearly not sufficient if each  influencer has expertise in only a single narrow domain.  Where do we find the balance to help society move forward on a low-net-carbon economy-wide transition?  Join this conversation with Dr. Ellen B. Stechel – scientist, engineer, administrator – on the need and challenge of thinking across many domains of knowledge to act and plan for a low-net-carbon society.

Ellen B Stechel is Co-Director, ASU LightWorks; Professor of Practice, School of Molecular Sciences; Senior Sustainability Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, and Fellow in the Institute for the Future of Innovation in Society, at Arizona State University (ASU.)  Her initial educational training and Ph.D. degree is in Chemical Physics from the University of Chicago. However, her career has afforded her opportunities to build and/or coordinate multi-disciplinary research programs at a national laboratory, industry, a U.S. government agency, and now in higher education at ASU; in both basic and applied research in multiple fields; policy and commercialization of emerging technologies; and in R&D strategy and management. She has held and holds numerous positions of an advisory or editorial capacity nationally and internationally and has published >100 peer reviewed articles. Her current technology-focused research focuses on materials and systems design for high temperature technologies for producing sustainable liquid hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide, hydrogen from advanced water splitting, clean water, renewable ammonia, and for thermochemical energy storage.  Her policy related inquiries focus on the necessary ingredients for a purposeful energy transition that is neutral (or negative) net carbon, affordable, reliable, resilient, and just.

UT Energy Symposium talks for the Fall 2020 semester are held remotely each Tuesday from 5:15 pm - 6:15 pm. A livestream link will provided on the Event page for each weekly symposium on the Energy Symposium website.