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Free Podcast of MS&T’09 Opening Session Available |
Posted on: 11/23/2009 12:00:00 AM... “Powering the Future: New Energy Opportunities for Materials Science and Engineering,” the opening session of the Materials Science & Technology 2009 (MS&T’09) Conference held October 25–29 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is now available as a free podcast in the TMS Knowledge Resource Center. To begin downloading, click on the link provided in the “For More Information” section at the end of this article.
Jeffrey Wadsworth, Battelle Memorial Institute president and chief executive officer, kicked off the session with his lecture, “Forging the Solution to the Energy Challenge: The Role of Materials Science and Materials Scientists.” In addition to discussing how materials science and engineering contributes directly to energy technologies, Wadsworth challenged the MS&T’09 attendees to engage actively in cultivating a new generation of materials scientists and engineers, while also providing responsible advocacy for both reasonable policy and appropriate public research investments in materials science and its energy applications.
Following Wadsworth was a keynote presented by Steven Koonin, Undersecretary of Science for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Koonin discussed two key energy goals— reducing dependence on oil imports and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. In the course of his discussion, he touched on such policy issues as the cap-and trade system being debated in the U.S. government, and outlined the materials challenges that must be addressed to improve the efficiency of oil and natural gas production, ensure the viability of solar power and other alternative energy sources, and usher in the next generation of nuclear power production.
The session concluded with a panel discussion, moderated by Alton D. Romig, senior vice president of Sandia National Laboratory, on current and future progress in energy technologies. Yet-Ming Chiang, executive vice president, deputy laboratories director, and chief operating officer, Sandia National
Laboratory, covered developments in battery storage and efficiency; Gregory J. Hildeman, Kyocera Professor of Ceramics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discussed solar energy; and John Marra, associate laboratory director, Savannah River National Laboratory, addressed nuclear energy issues.
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