On July 15, Carnegie Mellon University hosted the inaugural Energy and Innovation Summit, organized by Senator Dave McCormick. Participants included President Donald Trump and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, as well as industry leaders and global investors–plus a contingent from Lehigh University. Lehigh’s contingent included University President Joseph Helble, Energy Research Center (ERC) research scientist Zheng Yao, Institute for Cyber Physical Energy and Infrastructure (I-CPIE) Director and Professor of Economics Alberto J. Lamadrid, Associate Vice President of Government Relations Chris Carter, and Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics Postdoctoral Researcher Asal Saeidfar.
Yao and Lamadrid attended the Summit-adjacent Industry and Academic Expo, held in a secure area near the Summit, to talk about ongoing and future research at Lehigh University, particularly among faculty affiliated with I-CPIE, the ERC, and the newly established Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (ACES) University Research Center. Lehigh, one of five universities in the expo, along with the University of Pennsylvania, Penn State University, Carnegie Mellon, and the University of Pittsburgh, has a long history of research in many areas of energy and energy systems, as well as the infrastructures that support them.
Yao and Lamadrid provided visitors with demonstrations of research using machine learning, posters illustrating the breadth of Lehigh partnerships with industries throughout the Commonwealth via the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA), and conversations with visitors to the booth that will build future relationships and research. PITA is a technology development program that partners Lehigh faculty and students with Pennsylvania companies in order to enhance the technologies and operational processes of importance to the industry partner.
Yao says, “Our participation at the expo established a strong and positive image among attendees and shows that Lehigh thrives at the AI and Energy intersection,” an impression bolstered by the attendance of Lehigh’s president, Joseph Helble. Lamadrid and Yao hope to follow up on the connections forged at the summit.
Overall, the summit zeroed in on technology projects underway in the Commonwealth. Speakers focused on energy, labor, and data center development, including workforce development and uses of artificial intelligence. Executives from about 50 companies, including Google, Meta, BlackRock, Westinghouse Electric, and Amazon Web Services, were in attendance.