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 29, 2018
Geopolitical and energy trade affected by China’s rise
David Firestein, Executive Director, China Public Policy Center; Clinical Professor of Public Affairs, LBJ School, UT Austin
November 15, 2018
Book talk: Great American Outpost: Dreamers, Mavericks and the Making of an Oil Frontier
Maya Rao, Washington correspondent for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writer and author of Great American Outpost: Dreamers, Mavericks and the Making of an Oil Frontier
November 8, 2018
Innovating for a Clean Energy Future
Kate Zerrenner, Senior Manager, Energy-Water Initiatives, Environmental Defense Fund
October 25, 2018
Addressing Energy Poverty in Texas
Dana Harmon, Director, Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute
October 18, 2018
Shale: The Revolution That Wasn’t
Richard Chuchla, Director, Energy and Earth Resources program, Jackson School of Geosciences
October 11, 2018
Renewables and electricity market design
Peter Cramton, Professor of Economics, University of Cologne and University of Maryland
October 4, 2018
Transitioning to electricity as a fuel: challenges and opportunities for remaking our refueling infrastructure
Mike Nicholas, Senior Researcher, The International Council on Clean Transportation
September 27, 2018
What We Measure Matters – US Electricity in the Future
Robert Hebner, Director, Center for Electromechanics, The University of Texas at Austin
September 20, 2018
Creative Destruction and the Electric Utility of the Future
David Hurlbut, Senior Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
September 13, 2018
Fuel Taxation, Emissions Policy, and Competitive Advantage in the Diffusion of European Diesel Automobiles
Eugenio J. Miravete, Professor, Department of Economics, The University of Texas at Austin
September 6, 2018
How Energy Fits into the History of the World in Seven Cheap Things
Raj Patel, Research Professor, LBJ School of Public Affairs
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