Science Justice/EnergyWorlds

Energy Worlds Panel, Spring 2009

Energy Worlds Flyer

THE SCIENCE & JUSTICE WORKING GROUP PRESENTS:

ENERGY WORLDS: A Panel Discussion on Climate Change and Our 21st Century Energy Needs

April 15, 2009 / 4pm / The Simularium (Engineering-2, Room 180)

FEATURING:

• ALI SHAKOURI: Electrical Engineer / UCSC; Thermiotic Energy Conversion Center
• JOHN SHINN: Chemical Engineer & Policy Specialist / Engineers without Borders; Chevron
• JOE JORDAN: Activist & Educator / SJSU; Ecology Action of Santa Cruz; formerly NASA; the SETI Institute
• DAVID BLUME: Best-selling Author & Activist / International Institute for Ecological Agriculture
• ROBERT BAERTSCH: Engineer / NASA Ames; Biomolecular Science & Engineering, UCSC
• ANDREW SZASZ (MODERATOR): Environmental Sociologist / UCSC

JOIN US:

• Join a conversation about energy and climate change where matters of social, economic, and environmental justice will take center stage;
• Learn about technological and policy interventions that respond to climate change and the energy crisis;
• Help to identify and experiment with ways of speaking across different areas of expertise and political orientations as we work to address key public issues in science and technology.

Sponsored by: The Science and Justice Working Group, the Department of Sociology, the Department of Environmental Studies, the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), and College Eight. This event is free and open to the public. Contact tlwillia@ucsc.edu for disability-related accommodations.

PANELIST BIOS

Moderator:

Andrew Szasz, PhD (Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz) Andrew Szasz is Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Szasz teaches courses on Environmental Sociology and Sociological Theory. He has published numerous articles on regulation, worker safety and health, hazardous waste policy, and the toxics movement. His book, EcoPopulism: Toxic Waste and the Movement for Environmental Justice, won the Association for Humanistic Sociology's book award for 1994-95 and was voted one of the “Top 10 Environmental Sociology Books/Articles” in a poll conducted by the Environment and Technology Section of the ASA. His most recent book, Shopping Our Way to Safety, was a finalist for the C. Wright Mills book award for 2008.

Panelists:

Ali Shakouri, PhD (Electrical Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz) Ali Shakouri is professor of electrical engineering at University of California Santa Cruz. He received his Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology in 1995. His current research is on nanoscale heat and current transport in semiconductor devices, high-resolution thermal imaging, micro refrigerators on a chip and waste heat recovery. He is also working on a new sustainability curriculum in collaboration with colleagues in engineering and social sciences. He has initiated an international summer school on renewable energies sources in practice. He is the director of the Thermionic Energy Conversion center, a multi-university research initiative aiming to improve direct thermal to electric energy conversion technologies. He received the Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering in 1999, the NSF Career award in 2000 and UCSC School of Engineering FIRST Professor Award in 2004.

John Shinn, PhD (Engineers without Borders; Chevron) John Shinn has spent over thirty years working in energy-related research, development, and policy. He currently sits on the board of directors for Engineers without Borders and is a senior staff advisor for global issues at Chevron. After receiving his PhD in chemical engineering at UC Berkeley, John spent over a decade of his early career researching synthetic fuels, heavy oil conversion, gas to liquids technology, catalytic reforming, and low-emissions fuel production processes. He held various advisory and leadership positions in these areas, both at universities including MIT and CIT, and at NGO’s such as the World Bank. John has been working to address climate change since the late 1980s. He has worked for Chevron in the development and implementation of greenhouse gas management systems and policies (including cap and trade system design, offsets, and carbon market strategies) and mitigation planning and execution. He has led the oil industry’s principle engagement group on climate change, the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association’s Climate Change Working Group. Throughout his career, and particularly in his recent work with Engineers without Borders, John has sought to identify and implement approaches to energy that generate social and environmental benefits while reducing business risks and maintaining profitability.

Joe Jordan (Ecology Action, Santa Cruz; Meteorology, San Jose State University) Joe Jordan currently teaches courses on climate change in the Meteorology Department at San Jose State University. Joe worked at NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute for over 20 years. He served on various projects, including Hubble Space Telescope design and in-flight work with an airborne observatory for infrared astronomy; studies of atmospheric microphysics involved in global ozone depletion, and mission support for ongoing investigations of global climate change. His research has included use of artificial-intelligence software to search for new astronomical objects; the search for extra-solar planets; analysis of Martian-rover landscape images; and studies of Saturn's rings and its moon Titan. Joe has also served as a guide on "physics-in-nature" and stargazing outings for many educational organizations, including UCSC. He has taught science and math in high schools, and solar and renewable energy in K-12 classrooms, universities, and other organizations. He has delivered his "sky power" curriculum and training to teachers and administrators across the country, focusing on renewable/efficient energy. Joe has contributed as a science writer to several radio shows, and he has been a presenter and keynote speaker at a wide range of workshops, seminars, and conferences. Joe serves on the Board of Directors of Ecology Action of Santa Cruz, an environmental non-profit. He was the originator of the large and still-growing solar-electric project undertaken by the Santa Cruz City Schools, as well as the first public solar-power facilities in the city of Santa Cruz, including the one atop the city hall annex building.

David Blume (International Institute for Ecological Agriculture) David Blume is the Executive Director of the International Institute for Ecological Agriculture. He is the recipient of the American Corn Growers Association “Truth in Agricultural Journalism” award, is author of the Amazon best selling book Alcohol Can Be A Gas and is the leading advocate for Alcohol Fuel and the role of the American Farmer in developing a truly sustainable energy and food policy for the post-oil era. Alcohol Can Be A Gas (www.permaculture.com) is putting the future of energy and economic independence in a whole new light and presents an informative look at how alcohol fuel can easily be made from food waste, weeds and green crops and is being used around the world to combat climate change as well as energy and food shortages. David has been interviewed by Ira Flatow on NPR Science Friday, was featured on NBC WPIX Cable News, recently spoke at the PacRim BioFuels conference in Vancouver BC, and his landmark three hour interview on Coast to Coast radio with host George Noory was selected by the station as a “Best of 2008” program. More information on David is available at www.alcoholcanbeagas.com/book_menu/489/493

Robert Baesrtch (NASA Ames; Biomolecular Science & Engineering, UCSC) Robert Baertsch is one of the co-founders of the algal biofuels program at NASA Ames Research Center, funded by Google. Along with Dr. Jonathan Trent he leads a team of scientists who are building a system for growing algae offshore to produce biofuels for aviation. This system operates offshore without damaging land-based ecosystems. It uses the ocean for stirring and temperature control while reclaiming wastewater effluent as a nutrient source, avoiding the major inputs of land-based systems. He is also working on the software control system for an electric-powered transportation system called Skytran. A working prototype is now installed at NASA Ames. Robert Baertsch has also spent 5 years working on the human genome project at the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering at UC Santa Cruz, where he is currently a PhD candidate. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed publications (including in Science, Nature, PLoS and PNAS) on the human genome and the SARS virus. He has also worked on the UCSC Genome Browser.