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 (Spring 2024): 60540 (graduate students) / 60245 (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.
Upcoming UT Energy Symposium Talks
Date | Speaker | Talk Title |
|---|---|---|
| 4/1/2025 | Sanjay Bishnoi CEO, Entropy Inc. | Producing Low Carbon Power From Natural Gas and Carbon Capture Note: this talk will be held in San Jacinto Hall as part of UT Energy Week. |
| 4/8/2025 | Yonghong Chen Chief Scientist, Grid Planning and Analysis Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory | Interregional Transmission Operational Coordination |
| 4/15/2025 | Lee Lynd Paul E. and Joan H. Queneau Distinguished Professor of Engineering & Adjunct Professor of Biology, Dartmouth University; Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Terragia Corporation | Cellulosic Biofuel 2.0 |
| 4/22/2025 | Sam Porter Co-Founder & CEO, NeuVentus | Texas Reliability Underground: How Salt Cavern Storage Enables the Energy Expansion & Transition |
UT Energy Symposium Talks
January 17, 2013
Alternatives for Mitigating the Natural Resources Curse
Scott Gaille, Adjunct Professor of Management at Rice University and Chief Compliance Officer for ZaZa Energy Corporation
November 29, 2012
The Road Forward for Nuclear in the U.S. and Internationally
Dale Klein, Associate Director of the Energy Institute, Associate Vice President for research at UT Austin and former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
November 15, 2012
Building (and Maintaining) Competitive Advantage in Clean Manufacturing
Alan Goodrich, Senior Analyst, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
November 8, 2012
A Journalist’s Perspective on Covering Energy
Kate Galbraith, energy and environment reporter for the Texas Tribune
November 1, 2012
Climate Change and Climate Engineering
J. Eric Bickel, Professor, Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
October 25, 2012
CCS Speaker Panel
UT Senior Research Scientist Dr. Susan Hovorka, UT Professor of Chemical Engineering Gary Rochelle, and Douglas Heguy, Commercial Leader of Gasification at GE
October 18, 2012
Gas Power Nexus: A Closer Look at the Gas Value-Chain in Power Production
Eric Bradley, Vice President for Strategy at IPR-GDF Suez North America
October 11, 2012
Electric Vehicles and the EVGo Program
Arun Banskota, President of Electric Vehicle Services, NRG Energy
October 3, 2012
The Global Diffusion of Cleaner Energy Technologies
Kelly Sims Gallagher, Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University
September 27, 2012
Powering San Antonio into the New Energy Economy
Doyle N. Beneby, CEO, CPS Energy
September 6, 2012
Student Research Showcase
- Ashlynn Stillwell, Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering: “Energy-Water Nexus: Water Impacts on Thermoelectric Power Generation”
- Yezhou Wang, Electrical Engineering: “Power Grid Safety and Security: How to Keep Your Lights On”
- Scott Robinson, Energy and Earth Resources and LBJ School of Public Affairs: “Behavioral Pathways in the Diffusion of Residential Solar PV”
- Steve Bryant, Petroleum Engineering: “Refracturing: Getting More out of Unconventional Resources”
August 30, 2012
Sustainable Architecture: Form, Function, and Energy
Matt Fajkus, Assistant Professor, University of Texas School of Architecture, Principal Architect of Matt Fajkus Architecture, LLC
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