UT Energy Symposium
A weekly guest lecture series that is both free and open to the public and available for course credit.
In an effort to provide a multidisciplinary platform for UT faculty and students to interact on the most pressing energy issues facing our world, the Energy Institute sponsors the UT Energy Symposium (UTES), which entered its 28th semester in spring 2025.
The UTES serves as a “convener” for the campus community, uniting students interested in energy issues with faculty and others working on sustainable energy security. Students who register for the symposium receive one credit hour for the 15-week seminar course, which is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. The course is taught in both the fall and spring semesters.
Ongoing themes for UTES include climate change policy, innovation and diffusion of energy technologies, low-carbon technology options and status, and behavioral aspects of energy consumption.
Each UTES talk is recorded and posted on this page and on the Energy Institute YouTube channel.
Instructor: Carey King
Unique Number (Fall 2025): 65605 (graduate students) / 65310 (undergraduates)
Day & Time: Tuesday, 12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
If you need an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Christa Hopkins, who can be reached at 512-475-8447 or christa@energy.utexas.edu, no later than five (5) business days prior to the event.
UT Energy Symposium Talks
November 20, 2014
Cybersecurity in the Electricity Grid
Gus Lott, Senior Engineer, YarCom Inc.
November 13, 2014
Methane Emissions in the Natural Gas Supply Chain
David Allen, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
November 6, 2014
Technological and Commercial Innovations in Distributed Energy Generation:
- Charlie Upshaw, PhD student with the Webber Energy Group: “Modeling Peak Load Reduction and Energy Consumption Enabled by an Integrated Thermal Energy and Water Storage System for Residential Air Conditioning Systems in Austin, Texas”
- Erik Funkhouser, researcher with the Energy Systems Transformation group at UT: “Commercial Innovations in Community-scale Distributed Generation”
October 30, 2014
Effective Approaches for Funding Cleantech: Are We There Yet?
Mike Jackson, Partner, The Westly Group
October 23, 2014
Disrupting the Power Sector: Overpowering Inertia and Incrementalism
Paul Hudson, Managing Partner, Stratus Energy Group, LLC
October 9, 2014
Energy Research at the Intersection of Computer Science, Decision Sciences, and Complex Systems
Kiran Lakkaraju, Senior Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories
October 2, 2014
China’s Role in Global Clean Energy Technology Development
Joanna Lewis, Associate Professor, Georgetown University
September 25, 2014
Feeding the Dragon: Energy in China
Fred Beach, Assistant Director, Energy Institute
September 18, 2014
Renewables in Texas: Costs, Project Development, and Policy Issues
Panel discussion with Clay Butler (The Butler Firm), Colin Meehan (First Solar), and Spivey Paup (E.ON Renewables)
September 11, 2014
Impacts of Adoption of a More Fuel Efficient Vehicle Fleet
Steve Puller, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University
September 4, 2014
The Importance of Fuel Diversity in the Energy Generation Mix
Cris Eugster, Executive Vice President, Chief Generation and Strategy Officer, CPS Energy
May 3, 2012
Americans’ Vehicle and Travel Choices: Opportunities for Plug- In Vehicles in the Nation’s Fleet Evolution
Dr. Kara Kockelman, Professor & William J. Murray Jr. Fellow, Department of Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
April 26, 2012
The Future of Water in Texas, and What It Means for Energy
Thomas Mason, Former General Manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and currently with the law firm Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody
April 12, 2012
Taking Green Technologies from Innovation to the Market: A VC’s Perspective
Ashmeet Sidana, General Partner, Foundation Capital
April 5, 2012
California’s March Towards Sustainable Energy: Assessing the Record and Lessons for Future
Andrew McAllister, Managing Director, California Center for Sustainable Energy
March 29, 2012
Simulating Complex Systems: Applications to Energy
Dr. Charles Macal, Senior Systems Engineer, Argonne National Laboratory
March 22, 2012
The Energy Industry’s Media Triumphs and Disasters
Mark Fischetti, Energy and Environment Editor, Scientific American
March 8, 2012
National Oil Companies: Fueling Anxiety
Mark Thurber, Associate Director for Research, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, Stanford
March 1, 2012
What the Characteristics of Wind and Solar Electric Power Production Mean for Their Future
Jay Apt, Professor of Technology, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University
February 23, 2012
From Here to Eternity (and Beyond): Transforming to a Clean Energy Economy
David Crane, President and CEO, NRG Energy
February 16, 2012
Student Research Showcase
- Sudamsh Bai-Reddy, McCombs School of Business See PDF slides in a new window
- Benjamin Sigrin, Energy and Earth Resources and LBJ School of Public Affairs See PDF slides in a new window
- Dave Tuttle, Electrical and Computer Engineering See PDF slides in a new window
- Dan Weisberg, Pecan Street Inc. See PDF slides in a new window
February 8, 2012
Geopolitical Implications of Shale Gas
Amy Jaffe, Fellow in Energy Studies and Director of the Energy Forum, Baker Institute, Rice University
January 19, 2012
Utility of the Future
Roger Duncan, Research Analyst, Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy