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, 2022
(Book Talk) America's Energy Gamble: People, Economy and Planet
Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh
November 15, 2022
Student Symposium with Guest Speakers Matthew Dean and Justin S. Davenport
Matthew Dean, NSF Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Candidate in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Justin S. Davenport, JD Candidate, School of Law, The University of Texas at Austin
November 8, 2022
Lessons from the Real World (Science & Nature > Government Policies & Regulations)
Bill Flores, Vice-Chair and Independent Board Member, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT); Former Member of Congress—U.S. House of Representatives (2011-2021)
November 1, 2022
The Pros & Cons of Being a Municipal Utility in a Future With More Renewable Electricity
Erika Bierschbach, Vice President of Energy Market Operations & Resource Planning, Austin Energy
October 25, 2022
Energy Prices and the World Economy
James Hamilton, Professor, Economics, University of California San Diego
October 18, 2022
Loving the Alien: CO2 Deserves Our Affection but Save a Seat for Some Other Surprising Climate Change Allies
Jan Mertens, Chief Science Officer, ENGIE Research, Professor, Ghent University
October 11, 2022
An Oxford-Style Debate on University Fossil Fuel Divestment
Debate participants include: Cutler Cleveland, Dan Cohn, Bradford Cornell, and Brent Bennett
Moderated by: Carey King
October 4, 2022
Stranded Fossil-Fuel Assets Translate to Major Losses for Investors in Advanced Economics
Gregor Semieniuk, Assistant Research Professor, Political Economy Research Institute and Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
September 27, 2022
Building a Molten Salt Research Reactor in Texas by 2025
Derek Haas, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Kevin Clarno, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering (NEXTRA), The University of Texas at Austin
September 20, 2022
Constraints and Opportunities for Human Futures - A Systems Overview
Nathan Hagens, Director, The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future (ISEOF)
September 13, 2022
Generating Hydrogen in the Sub-surface
Ian Duncan, GeoH2 Industrial Affiliate Program, State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery Group, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin
September 6, 2022
Findings from the Micro-to-Macro Scale Energy and Economic Systems Modeling Initiative of UT Austin
Balasubramanian Sambasivam and Suman Saurabh, Post-doctoral Fellows, Energy Institute, The University of Texas at Austin
These presentations are part of the effort of the Micro-to-Macro Initiative funded via the Energy Institute. Click here to read more.
August 30, 2022
Meeting wind energy expectations: The cross disciplinary challenge.
Paul Veers, Senior Research Fellow - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
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