Group photo of the summit participants (Photo credit: The Scott Institute for Energy Innovation).
On September 25 and 26, the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon co-hosted the 2019 University Energy Institute Leadership Summit in collaboration with the Colorado School of Mines' Payne Institute for Public Policy and Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. Richard Sause, Director of Lehigh’s Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure & Energy (I-CPIE) and Carlos Romero, Director of the Energy Research Center and I-CPIE member, attended the event.
Sause and Romero were among 101 leaders representing more than 67 academic energy institutes and centers from 32 states across the U.S. The summit provided networking opportunities among academic institutes, as well as with national and local government officials. Participants also discussed creating a network of national energy institutes. Reflecting on the broad participation at the summit, Sause noted, “This event was really interesting. It was eye-opening to see the breadth of disciplines and perspectives represented by the 60+ institutes, and amazing that so many busy people were willing and able to participate.”
This summit was useful in helping connect Lehigh with other centers and institutes in the U.S., carrying research in the energy space from diverse angles, such as energy technology development, and environmental and policy issues. The projection of a network of national energy institutes may carry the potential for Lehigh to be part of a group of universities working on leading-edge solutions to energy-related problems, leveraging facilities and expertise, and preparing joint proposals for funding from government and industry.
Click to read Carnegie Mellon’s in-depth article about the event.