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
April 28, 2020
Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States
Leah Stokes, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and affiliated with the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara
April 21, 2020
Distributed Energy Resources in Texas
Suzanne Bertin, Managing Director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
April 14, 2020
Energy Gain and Complexity
Joseph A. Tainter, Professor of Sustainability in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University
April 7, 2020
The Potential of Geothermal in Our Clean Energy Future
Timothy Latimer, Co-Founder and CEO of Fervo Energy
March 10, 2020
Will Electric And Driverless Cars Decarbonize Transportation?
Costa Samaras, Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University
March 3, 2020
Leveraging the Power of Small towards Energy Resources Recovery
Dr. Wen Song, Assistant Professor of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin
February 11, 2020
Ask UT Anything
David Spence (Professor, Baker Botts Chair in Law, Professor of Business, Govt. & Society)
Larry Lake (Professor, Shahid and Sharon Ullah Endowed Chair in Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering)
David Adelman (Professor, Harry Reasoner Regents Chair in Law)
Sheila Olmstead (Professor, LBJ School of Public Affairs)
Susan Hovorka (Senior Research Scientist, Bureau of Economic Geology)
Carey King (Research Scientist & Assistant Director, Energy Institute)
February 4, 2020
Collaborative Conservation in the Energy Industry
Joni Carswell, CEO and President of Texan by Nature (TxN)
January 28, 2020
Engaging the Public on Renewable Energy and Carbon Dioxide Removal
Dr. Sol Hart, Associate Professor in Communication and Media and the Program in the Environment at the University of Michigan
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