MEDIA ADVISORY — Formal Launch of the Energy Institute at Colorado State University Oct. 14
FORT COLLINS —
WHAT: Energy Institute at Colorado State University formal launch event — Powering a World of Better Energy
WHEN: Oct. 14, 4-7:30 p.m. Networking and poster session with directors of a dozen centers, labs and programs associated the Institute will take place before and after formal remarks.
WHERE: Lory Student Center Theater, on campus. Parking passes available; contact Kate Jeracki.
WHAT: The Energy Institute serves as a nucleus of research, education, and outreach for the faculty, staff, and students of Colorado State University. This cross-campus, interdisciplinary effort is operated under the Office of the Vice President for Research. The extensive network of researchers, research programs, and centers, spans all eight colleges at CSU, and extends off campus to a global network of public and private partners.
CSU has a long history of pioneering work in energy, with more than 160 faculty developing energy technologies, exploring the economics, environmental, and sociological impacts of energy use, and proposing energy policy solutions. The Institute aims to grow the impact, reach, and reputation of energy research and education at Colorado State University by increasing collaboration with industry and governmental partners, creating new research and educational opportunities for CSU faculty and students, and accelerating the dissemination of CSU solutions.
WHO: The following CSU researchers and directors will be available during the event.
Center for the New Energy Economy
Director: Bill Ritter, bill.ritter@colostate.edu; 970-492-4215
Assistant Director: Maury Dobbie, maury.dobbie@colostate.edu, 970-491-3788
Expertise: provides policy makers, governors, planners and other decision makers with a road map that will accelerate the nationwide development of a New Energy Economy.
Center for Energy Development and Health
Director: John Volckens, john.volckens@colostate.edu; 970-491-6341
Expertise: Fosters positive impacts on energy-related systems through the development and dissemination of technologies, models, and policies that promote energy that is not only ‘clean’ but also healthy and sustainable, locally and globally.
Industrial Assessment Center
Director: Thomas Bradley, Thomas.bradley@colostate.edu; 970-491-3539
Expertise: Provides eligible small and medium-sized manufacturers with free, comprehensive on-site industrial energy audits and resource assessments to find resource and cost savings. IAC provides CSU engineering students with the tools and experience necessary to become the next generation of energy engineers.
Center for Agricultural Energy
Co-directors: Cary Weiner, cary.weiner@colostate.edu; 970-491-3784
Mike Kostrzewa, michael.kostrzewa@colostate.edu; 970-491-7709
Expertise: Empowers agricultural producers in Colorado to make environmentally and financially sound energy decisions. Affiliated faculty conduct agricultural energy audits, outreach, and research.
Center for Next Generation Photovoltaics
Director: W. S. Sampath, Sampath@engr.colostate.edu, 970-491-8619
Associate director: Kurt Barth, .barth@engr.colostate.edu; 970-217-9434
Expertise: Focuses on making solar PV electricity competitive with traditional sources, through the CdTe thin-film PV technology which has the lowest cost, largest domestic production volume and clear leadership in the US clean energy revolution. Collaborative research is conducted with multiple domestic and international institutions, national laboratories and industry from fundamental discoveries to proof-of-concept improvements for industrial processes.
Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory
Director: Anthony Marchese, anthony.marchese@colostate.edu; 970-491-2328
Expertise: Recognized as a leading global research force in advanced biofuels, engines and engine controls, smart grid technology, and energy for development. The lab has been recognized for its basic and applied research, technology development, technology dissemination, and economic development.
Sustainable Biofuels Development Center
Director: Ken Reardon, kenneth.reardon@colostate.edu; 970-491-6505
Expertise: Offers an interdisciplinary framework for sustainable bioenergy-related technologies supporting research, development, education, and technology transfer at CSU. SBDC serves more than 40 CSU bioenergy researchers in six colleges and at least 12 departments, with expertise encompassing scientific, engineering, business, and social science approaches to bioenergy. Activities encompass development of sustainable crops; biofuel processing; useable fuel sources and engine adaptation; byproduct production, and sustainability assessment.
Electric Power Systems Laboratory
Director: Sid Suryanarayanan, sid.suryanarayanan@colostate.edu;
Expertise: CSU’s research in advanced electric power systems includes design, operation, control, and economics of new topologies of the emerging grid; finite-inertia grids for mission-critical loads; cyber-physical systems for energy management; efficient interconnection of new technologies including renewable energy sources to the grid; and advanced signal processing for proactive and prognostic control of the grid.
Center for Laser Sensing and Diagnostics
Director: Azer Yalin, azer.yalin@colostate.edu; 970-491-2813
Expertise: Works with laser sensing and diagnostics applied to energy, the environment, and plasmas, including measurements of engine emissions, basic combustion and plasma systems, trace atmospheric gases, and propulsion devices.
Center for Energy and Behavior
Co-Directors: Pat Aloise-Young, patricia.aloise-young@colostate.edu; 970-491-6941
Jeni Cross, jeni.cross@colostate.edu; 970-491-0483
Expertise: Promotes interdiciplinary research on energy use. Achieving energy efficiency requires understanding the interactions between technology and people’s decision-making and behavior.
Center for Energy Water Sustainability
Director: Ken Carlson, kcarlson@engr.colostate.edu; 970-491-8336
Expertise: Works at the important interface of energy and water as the shale oil and gas industry becomes a significant economic force in the state. Projects include an industry/DOE/CSU collaboration to optimize recycling of hydraulic fracturing wastewater and the development of the Colorado Water Watch, a public access real-time monitoring tool intended to provide more information on the impacts of the oil and gas industry on water resources.
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