Monday, February 18, 2013

2/28 - All You Ever Wanted to Know About Smart Grids

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Smart Grids
John McDonald
Thursday, February 28, 5:15 PM 
Mezes Hall (MEZ) 1.306. Refreshments served at 5pm     
     
About the speaker:
John D. McDonald, P.E., is Director, Technical Strategy and Policy Development for GE Energy Management’s Digital Energy business.  John has 38 years of experience in the electric utility industry. John is responsible for setting and driving the vision that integrates GE’s standards participation, and Digital Energy’s industry organization participation, thought leadership activities, regulatory/policy participation, education programs, and product/systems development into comprehensive solutions for customers.
 
John is Past President of the IEEE PES, Chair of the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) Board, and a charter member of the IEEE Brand Ambassadors Program. John received his B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. (Power Engineering) degrees from Purdue University, and an M.B.A. (Finance) degree from the University of California-Berkeley. John was Editor of the Substations Chapter, and a co-author, for the book The Electric Power Engineering Handbook, co-sponsored by the IEEE PES and published by the CRC Press in 2000. John is Editor-in-Chief for the book Electric Power Substations Engineering, Third Edition, published by Taylor & Francis/CRC Press in 2012.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Special Talk: Energy Policy in Abu Dhabi: Big Lessons for America from a Tiny Oil Sheikdom

Friday, February 15th, 12:15PM
Bass Lecture Hall (basement of LBJ School)
No RSVP, Light Lunch Provided 
 
Announcing:
The UT Energy Symposium is excited to announce this talk with a leading global practitioner in energy policy and investment. Please join us for Free Light Lunch and a conversation about his experience and insights.
 
This event is co-sponsored The Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy Law (TJOGEL).
 
Speaker Bio:
As Executive Director of Economic affairs for the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi, Mr. Scott leads an interdisciplinary team of analysts charged with conducting targeted research and providing strategic economic policy advice to the Chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Council.  In his role as Executive Director of Energy and Economic Affairs, Mr. Scott has helped organize and lead an interagency working group that has been charged with analyzing future energy demand across the UAE and developing strategies to meet that demand.
 
A native of the state of Utah in the United States, Mr. Scott has worked extensively in the Middle East region and brings a unique policy perspective based upon his combined government and private sector work experience. 
 
Prior to taking on his current role with the Executive Affairs Authority, Mr. Scott worked as a regional vice president for Occidental Petroleum Corporation.  From 2001-2002, he served at the White House as the National Security Council’s Director for Arabian Peninsula and North African Affairs. Mr. Scott is a former US Foreign Service Officer and a veteran of the United States Army.  He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and a former graduate fellow with the Center for Arabic Studies Abroad at the American University of Cairo.

2/14 - Recent Developments in Unconventional Gas Law and Regulation

Recent Developments in Unconventional Gas Law and Regulation
John Hays
Thursday, February 14, 5:15 PM 
Mezes Hall (MEZ) 1.306. Refreshments served at 5pm
 
About the speaker:
John R. Hays, Jr. has a unique background in government, academia, and the private practice of law. He has served as an Examiner with the Railroad Commission of Texas and is an Adjunct Professor of Energy Law at the University of Texas School of Law. Mr. Hays has written and presented numerous papers on energy law, regulation, and litigation to such groups as the State Bar of Texas, the Department of Energy, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, the University of Houston Law Center, and the Center for American & International Law. He received his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1974 and his B.A. from Rice University in 1971 with a major in economics and business administration.

Monday, February 4, 2013

2/7 - UTES Lecture: Emerging Supply- and Demand-Side Technologies are Pressuring Regulators to Change Course – But Do They Have the Political Will?

Emerging Supply- and Demand-Side Technologies are Pressuring Regulators to Change Course – But Do They Have the Political Will?
Sherman Elliott
Thursday, February 7, 5:15 PM
Mezes Hall (MEZ) 1.306. Refreshments served at 5pm
 
About the speaker:
Sherman J. Elliott is currently a consultant providing business, regulatory and economic consulting to corporate clients, law firms, regulatory bodies, and government/non-government agencies. He served as Commissioner at the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) from 2008 through 2012.
 
Prior to his appointment at the ICC, he served as manager of State Regulatory Affairs for the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (Midwest ISO). Before joining the Midwest ISO, he was employed as a senior energy policy advisor to ICC Commissioners on state and federal issues for eight years.
 
He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Illinois at Springfield.