[E&E seminars] Energy Futures Week - IAP 2010: January 11-15

[Jameson Twomey]

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Please join us!



Energy Futures Week

IAP 2010: January 11-15



Presented by the MIT Energy Initiative

Innovation, Research, and Education for a Sustainable Future

http://web.mit.edu/mitei/iap10

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Here is an overview of Energy Futures Week activities. Scroll down for  
details about each activity.

NOTE: This list is current as of Friday, January 8th.  Some events  
have been added and some times and locations have changed—please  
refer to this list for the most current details.



MONDAY, January 11th

1)  11am-12pm: High-Performance Rechargeable Batteries for Sustainable  
Transportation and Large-scale Storage of Electric Power

2) 12-1pm: Power Up!  Strategies for Getting Energy Information

3) 1-2pm: Power up with Maps! GIS and Energy Resources

4) 2-3:30pm: Tour of MIT Cogeneration Plant

5) 2-5pm: Fantasy Electricity Markets Game I



TUESDAY, January 12th

6) 11am-12pm: Virtual tour of energy & sustainability features in new  
Sloan & Koch buildings

7) 2-3pm: Undergraduate Energy Education at MIT: Info about the new  
Minor and Energy classes

8) 3-5pm: U.S. Electricity Transmission Policy Panel Discussion

9) 5-7pm: Pathways to Sustainable Development: Co-optimizing Economic  
Welfare, Energy Supply and Demand, Environment, and Employment



WEDNESDAY, January 13th

10) 10am-12pm: The Road from Copenhagen: A live, interactive role-play  
negotiation using the C-ROADS climate policy simulation

11) 12-1pm: Recyclemania 2010 IAP Session

12) 1-2pm: Power Up!  Energy Industry Resources

13) 5-7pm: Exploring Careers in Energy



THURSDAY, January 14th

14) 9am-4pm: "Fuel Your Mind" -- A Primer on Transportation Fuels,  
Current and Future

15) 6-7:30pm: Energy and Environment projects showcase



FRIDAY, January 15th

16) 9am-12pm: Undergraduate Weatherization Workshop

17) 10am-12pm: Tour of the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy  
Systems

18) 12-2pm: Green Ambassadors Workshop

19) 1-3pm: Low Carbon Emission Electricity Generating Technology Options

20) 2-3pm: Wind Energy 101: Basics of the resource, technology,  
business and policy

21) 3-4pm: Fantasy Electricity Markets Game II



OTHER EVENTS during IAP

22) 1/16, 6-7:30pm: Potential for Wind-Generated Electricity in China

23) 1/11-1/13 Mass Energy Trek

24) 1/19 and 1/21, 10am-1:30pm: Recycling Facility Tour

25) 1/ 19 through 1/22, 2-3:30pm: Introduction to Nuclear Power





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MONDAY, January 11th

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1) High-Performance Rechargeable Batteries for Sustainable  
Transportation and Large-scale Storage of Electric Power

Prof. Donald Sadoway

11am-12pm, 32-155

The road to sustainability is paved with advanced materials. Advances  
in rechargeable batteries would enable widespread adoption of  
practical electric vehicles taking us beyond hybrids and obviating the  
need for fuel-cells. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions plus  
the freedom from reliance on overseas sources of petroleum with  
attendant geopolitical implications give special value to an all- 
electric fleet. Innovation in stationary electrical energy storage at  
high amperage would enable us to store off-peak power from the grid  
for subsequent delivery on demand during high usage periods. Adoption  
of wind or photovoltaic generation hinges to a large extent on the  
advent of proper storage technology: renewables are enabled by  
colossal batteries. Examples of innovation in both portable and  
stationary energy storage will be presented.



2) Power Up!  Strategies for Getting Energy Information

Angie Locknar, Chris Sherratt

12-1pm, 14N-132

Information on energy is everywhere! How do you find the scientific  
and technical information you need and keep on the cutting edge of  
what is published? Attend this hands-on session to find out.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Libraries



3) Power up with Maps! GIS and Energy Resources

Anne Graham, Lisa Sweeney

1-2pm, 14N-132

Where are the power plants and the pipelines? How close are they to  
population centers? In this session MIT GIS Services will introduce  
you to energy maps and spatial data available and demonstrate GIS in  
action on the energy front.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Libraries



4) Tour of MIT Cogeneration Plant

Roger Moore, Seth Kinderman, Peter Cooper

2-3:30pm, Meet at plant front door, Building 42 (59 Vassar St.)

Tour of Central Utility/Cogeneration Plant will be conducted by plant  
engineering staff.  Energy flow, equipment and systems as well as the  
Cogeneration development history will be presented, followed by tour  
of the 20MW gas turbine, heat recovery steam generator, boilers,  
chillers and plant controls.

Enrollment is limited to 25: RSVP to alva at plant.mit.edu by 1/11 at 10am
Co-sponsored by: MIT Facilities



5) Fantasy Electricity Markets Game I

Mar Reguant-Rido, Nidhi Santen

2-5pm, 32-141

Learn about electricity economics, markets, and firm bidding strategy  
while still having fun!  Join a one week-long fantasy electricity  
markets game designed to teach real electric power sector competitive  
bidding strategy and market behaviors.  The activity will adopt the  
“Electricity Strategy Game,” developed by Severin Borenstein at UC  
Berkeley.  Most game playing will occur via internet, once a day,  
between Monday and Friday.  Session I is an introductory session to  
the topics and game. Participants are encouraged to bring their  
laptops to the first session for the tutorial.  Session II is a  
debriefing where game winners will be announced and questions will be  
addressed.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Electricity Student Research Group, MIT Energy Club





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TUESDAY, January 12th

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6) Virtual tour of energy & sustainability features in new Sloan &  
Koch buildings

Walt Henry and Peter Cooper

11am-12pm, 32-155

Energy Features of the new Sloan Building and Koch Institute will be  
presented.  Sloan is on track to be the most efficient building MIT  
has ever built and KI to be the most efficient lab building.  Features  
incorporated to achieve this will be presented as well as the  
integrated design process employed.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Facilities



7) Undergraduate Energy Education at MIT: Info about the new Minor and  
Energy classes

Amanda Graham

2-3pm, 4-149

Learn about the new Energy Studies Minor and Energy classes that will  
be offered in the Spring semester.  Light refreshments will be served.



8) U.S. Electricity Transmission Policy Panel Discussion

Nidhi Santen, Andrew Whitaker, Jordan Kwok

3-5pm, 32-141

Electric transmission system infrastructure in the United States must  
be upgraded and improved, but who will shoulder the costs?  Should  
investments be targeted at building a more reliable, efficient system,  
or is it more important to focus on integrating renewable energy  
sources such as wind and solar, regardless of other considerations?   
This panel discussion will address these and other issues critical to  
the future of United States electricity infrastructure.

Panelists include executives and representatives of ISO New England,  
New York ISO, Dominion Resources, and Virginia Power.  Discussion will  
be moderated by MIT Visiting Professor, Ignacio Perez-Arriaga.  Light  
refreshments will be served.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Electricity Student Research Group, MIT Energy Club



9) Pathways to Sustainable Development: Co-optimizing Economic  
Welfare, Energy Supply and Demand, Environment, and Employment

Nicholas Ashford

5-7pm, E51-145

Seeing Green: Approaching Any Field from the Sustainable Perspective

Nicholas Ashford, Professor of Technology and Policy, and the Director  
of the MIT Technology and Law Program, will speak as part of Energy  
Week during Independent Activities Period.
Both environmental and employment concerns must be seen as essential  
goals of sustainable transformations, focusing simultaneously on co- 
optimizing improvements in economic welfare, environment, and  
employment in an integrated, rather than merely coordinated, manner by  
fashioning winning forces and scenarios through both regulation and  
providing the correct incentives. This involves (1) broadening and  
opening up the policy agenda beyond environmental concerns; (2)  
removing perverse incentives for unsustainable practices; (3) avoiding  
lock-in and agenda/government capture by incumbent industry and other  
stakeholders; and (4) government acting a trustee for industrial  
transformations, not merely a referee of competing interests. Finally,  
the necessary and sufficient conditions for change must be addressed  
in policy initiatives: willingness, opportunity/motivation, and  
capacity for the private sector, government, and people to change.

Co-sponsored by: Sustainability at MIT



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WEDNESDAY, January 13th

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10) The Road from Copenhagen: A live, interactive role-play  
negotiation using the C-ROADS climate policy simulation

John Sterman

10am-12pm, 4-153

MIT Professor John Sterman will present the C-ROADS model in a live,  
interactive session in which participants will have a chance to  
negotiate their own climate treaty.  We’ll discuss what the current  
science tells us, what happened (and didn’t) in Copenhagen, and how  
the C-ROADS model is being used by senior policymakers in the US and  
abroad, before, during and after COP-15.

C-ROADS is a joint project of MIT, the Sustainability Institute, and  
Ventana Systems.  For details, see http://climateinteractive.org.



11) Recyclemania 2010 IAP Session

Niamh Kelly

12-1pm, 66-156

RecycleMania 2010 Planning & Information Session. RecycleMania is a  
national recycling competition to promote recycling & waste reduction.

Co-sponsored by: Environment, Health and Safety Office

12) Power Up!  Energy Industry Resources
Katherine McNeill

1-2pm, 14N-132

Interested in researching or working in the field of energy? Want to  
find out how your energy project fits into the landscape of various  
industry industries? This session will give you the skills to research  
the business and statistical information on energy to find industry  
overviews, market research, news and data.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Libraries



13) Exploring Careers in Energy
Nancy Richmond

5-7pm, 32-155

Considering a career in the energy sector? Come hear from those who  
work in the industry about some of the many career options in this  
growing sector and what it takes to succeed in this field. Panelists  
are:

-        Tod Hynes, President, XL Hybrids

-        Bruce Biewald, President, Synapse Energy Economics

-        Ed Lovelace, Executive VP of Engineering, Free Flow Power

-        Jim Walker, Director, Solar PV Grid Projects, Ameresco

-        Dwayne Breger, Director, Renewable and Alternative Energy  
Development, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

For more information and to register, visit CareerBridge: https://www.myinterfase.com/mit/student/ 
  and select Workshops, Career Fairs and Events.
Co-sponsored by: Global Education and Career Development


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THURSDAY, January 14th

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14) "Fuel Your Mind" -- A Primer on Transportation Fuels, Current and  
Future
William H. Green (MIT Dept. of Chem. Eng.), George Huff & Jim Simnick  
(BP Global Fuels Technology)

9am-4pm, 56-114

The goal of this short course is to gain a better understanding of  
fuels using a combination of video, photos, diagrams, text and audio.  
The material is based on seminars our fuels technology staff has given  
to automotive mechanics, as well as our marketing and advertising  
agencies. We have included four modules which deal with the most  
common topics that have been requested at these seminars. These include:
1. Refining, Supply and Pricing
2. Gasoline
3. Biofuels
4. Ethanol & E-85
Co-sponsored by: Chemical Engineering

15) Energy and Environment projects showcase

Jennifer DiMase

6-7:30pm, Lobby 10

An interactive poster session and reception highlighting  
sustainability, energy, and environment student groups and research  
projects.  Light refreshments will be served.




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FRIDAY, January 15th

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16) Undergraduate Weatherization Workshop

9am-12pm, E52

Learn and apply cost-effective means of making existing buildings more  
energy-efficient.  This workshop consists of an overview of building  
weatherization by MIT Facilities followed by application of  
demonstrated techniques at various locations in E52.  The event is  
geared towards undergraduates but open to all MIT students.

Enrollment is limited to 30 people.  RSVP to yangbodu at mit.edu by  
January 12th.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Facilities, Undergraduate Association  
Sustainability Committee



17) Tour of the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems

Kevin Huang, Jeff McAulay, Nolan Browne

10am-12pm, meet in Kendall Sq. (outside the MIT Coop)

Fraunhofer is a world renowned non-profit contract R&D firm.  
Fraunhofer USA has recently set up a new research center in Cambridge  
as part of the Fraunhofer-MIT Alliance. Located at 25 First st. the  
Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE) is conducting  
research in the areas of PV modules, Building Energy Efficiency and  
Smart Grid. The tour will consist of an overview of Fraunhofer  
followed by a tour of the PV module fabrication and testing lab.

Enrollment is limited to 20 people.  RSVP to kjhuang at mit.edu by  
January 10th.

Co-sponsored by: Fraunhofer USA, MIT Energy Club



18) Green Ambassadors Workshop

Niamh Kelly, Kat Donnelly, Steve Lanou

12-2pm, 46-3189
This workshop - designed to support the work of MIT's Green  
Ambassadors, but open to all - will offer an interactive session that  
provides insights into the latest thinking and research on effective  
behavior change strategies to promote greener practices on campus.  
Breakout sessions will explore on-campus strategies that work in your  
office, lab, or dorm. Kat Donnelly, a Ph.D. student in Technology,  
Management & Policy who is conducting cutting edge research on  
behavior change and energy conservation, will be presenting. A light  
lunch will be provided. If enrollement becomes limited, preference  
will be given to MIT Green Ambassadors.

Co-sponsored by: Campus Energy Task Force and Walk The Talk Community  
Organizing & Communications Teams



19) Low Carbon Emission Electricity Generating Technology Options
János M. Béer

1-3pm, 66-110

As CO2 emission control from fossil fuel based power generation is  
gaining increasing acceptance, high generating efficiency and CO2  
capture and storage are becoming key concepts for both new and  
existing plants. State of the art technology options and those in R&D  
and Demonstration stages are discussed together with their timeline  
and the possibility of speeding up their deployment.
Co-sponsored by: Chemical Engineering



20) Wind Energy 101: Basics of the resource, technology, business and  
policy
Katherine Dykes

2-3pm, 32-124

Wind Energy 101 presents an overview for all audiences as the  
fundamentals of wind power resource and assessment, the different  
subsystems and components of wind turbines and their grid  
interconnection, a brief look at the business development process and  
economics, the state of wind energy in the US and the world, and  
finally a look at environmental, social and political issues affected  
by or that affect the technology.
Co-sponsored by: MIT Wind Energy Group, MIT Energy Club

21) Fantasy Electricity Markets Game II

Mar Reguant-Rido, Nidhi Santen

3-4pm, 56-114

Second session of a two-part activity (see item 5).  Game winners will  
be announced and questions will be addressed.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Electricity Student Research Group, MIT Energy Club





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OTHER EVENTS during IAP

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22) Potential for Wind-Generated Electricity in China

Xi Lu

1/16, 6-7:30pm

Location: 2-105

Wind offers an important alternative to coal as a renewable source for  
power generation in China with potential for significant reduction of  
CO2 emissions. The present study investigates both onshore and  
offshore potentials for wind energy in China based on the winds from  
NASA. The analysis assumes deployment of a network of 1.5-MW turbines  
and 3.6-MW turbines to capture the kinetic energy in onshore and  
offshore wind respectively in China. Forested areas, built up areas,  
ice-covered areas, and relative steep areas are considered unsuitable  
for installations of wind turbines and therefore excluded from the  
present analysis. A GIS‐based financial model is established to  
evaluate the amount of land-based wind energy that could be harvested  
economically under the concession policy in China. Assuming a  
guaranteed price of 0.516 RMB/kWh over an initial fixed‐price period,  
the results suggest that wind could accommodate all of the demand for  
electricity projected for 2030, about twice current consumption.  
Electricity available at a concession price as low as 0.4 RMB per  
kilowatt-hour would be sufficient to displace 23% of electricity  
generated from coal.

Advance sign up required to order free dinner, please contact Hengwei  
Liu, Hengwei_Liu at hks.harvard.edu

Co-sponsored by: MIT China Energy and Environment Research Group



23) Mass Energy Trek

James Luong

1/11 – 1/13, 8am-5pm

Location: Around greater Boston area, Meet in E51 Tang Lobby at 8am

Mass Energy Trek is a three-day trek in the second week of January  
during IAP. It's is the Energy component of MIT Tech Treks organized  
jointly by Sloan E&E, Media Tech, and MIT. We will visit innovative  
companies in and around the energy space at different stages of  
maturity.

No enrollment limit but advance sign up required. Contact  
jluong at MIT.EDU to sign up.

Activity Fee: $50 Trek Fee, $100 Values @MIT deposit

Co-sponsored by: Sloan Energy and Environment Club



24) Recycling Facility Tour

Jarrod Jones

1/19 and 1/21, 10am-1:30pm, Depart from NW62

Take a tour of the Casella Recycling Facility in Charlestown and see  
how Single Stream materials are sorted. Transportation to the facility  
and back to MIT will be provided. Sign up is required. Each tour is  
limited to 15 people. RSVP to recycling at mit.edu.

Co-sponsored by: MIT Facilities



25) Introduction to Nuclear Power
Benoit Forget, Paul Romano, Jacob DeWitte
1/19 – 1/22, 2-3:30pm, 4-149

Enrollment limited to 50 participants: first come, first served
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)

Course 1: Historical perspective of nuclear fission. Overview of  
radioactive decay and nuclear fission. Basic concepts of a nuclear  
power reactor.
Course 2: Introduction of nuclear reactor safety. Discussion of  
reactivity and feedback mechanisms. Overview of defense in depth  
concepts. Discussion of Chernobyl accident.
Course 3: Overview of the fuel cycle. From mining to waste disposal,  
this course will discuss ore processing, enrichment, spent nuclear  
fuel and long term disposal.
Course 4: Overview of closed-fuel cycles possibilities such as Pu  
recycling and Minor actinides recycling. Introduction to fast reactors.

Co-sponsored by: Nuclear Science and Engineering





The MIT Energy Initiative would like to thank the following  
organizations for their sponsorship during Energy Futures Week 2010:

MIT Global Education & Career Development Center, Closing the Loop,  
MIT Energy Club, Environment, Health and Safety Office, Department of  
Facilities, Information Services & Technology, MIT Libraries,  
Sustainability at MIT, UA Committee on Sustainability

  
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