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.

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.

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.

1/31 - UTES Lecture: Energy Conservation Behavior and the Behavioral Wedge

Energy Conservation Behavior and the Behavioral Wedge

Thomas Dietz

Thursday, January 31, 5:15 PM 

Mezes Hall (MEZ) 1.306. Refreshments served at 5pm

 

About the speaker:

Thomas Dietz is a Professor of Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy (ESPP) and Assistant Vice President for Environmental Research at Michigan State University. He is also Co-Director of the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessment Center. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor of General Studies from Kent State University. Dr. Dietz is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been awarded the Sustainability Science Award of the Ecological Society of America as well as the Distinguished Contribution Award of the American Sociological Association Section on Environment.

 

At the National Research Council he has served as chair of the U.S. National Research Council Committee on Human Dimensions of Global Change and the Panel on Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making, and currently is Vice Chair of the Panel on Advancing the Science of Climate Change of the America’s Climate Choices study. He is currently a member of the NRC Committee to Advise the U.S. Global Change Research Program.  He has co-authored or co-edited twelve books and more than 100 papers and book chapters. His current research examines the human driving forces of environmental change, environmental values and the interplay between science and democracy in environmental issues.

1/17 - UTES Lecture: Alternatives for Mitigating the Natural Resources Curse

Alternatives for Mitigating the Natural Resources Curse

  Scott Gaille

Thursday, January 17, 5:15 PM 

Mezes Hall 1.306. Refreshments served at 5pm

 

About the speaker:

Scott Gaille is an Adjunct Professor of Management at Rice University’s Graduate School of Business and Chief Compliance Officer and general counsel for ZaZa Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: ZAZA).  He is the author of three books and several law review articles, including a textbook based on his course at Rice, International Energy Development. 

 

Previously, Scott was Director - Business Development for Occidental Oil & Gas Corporation. His responsibilities there included starting and growing new business units in Africa, the Middle East and South America.  Prior to joining Oxy, Mr. Gaille practiced law with the Energy Section of Vinson & Elkins.  Scott was an Olin Fellow in Law and Economics at the University of Chicago, where he received his Doctor of Law degree with High Honors.  He received a Bachelor of Arts with High Honors at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  

11/30 - ASPO 2012 Conference

The Next Oil Crisis: Is the Boom Just Another Bubble?

ASPO-USA will host an energy conference on The University of Texas campus Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1. The event is co-hosted by McCombs School of Business, Cockrell School of Engineering, and the UT Energy Institute.

Go to the event website for more information: 

http://www.cvent.com/events/the-next-oil-crisis-is-the-boom-just-another-bubble-/event-summary-11a8c07f60dd41a2a53842ecdf190d3f.aspx