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 29th semester in fall 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.
Upcoming UT Energy Symposium Talks
| Date | Speaker | Talk Title |
| 3/24/2026 | Sara Eftekharnejad | Associate Professor, SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellow, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University | Modeling Power Grid Failures and Intermittent Energy Resources Under Weather Uncertainty |
| 3/31/2026 | Kyle Chan | Fellow – Foreign Policy, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution | China’s Clean Tech Industrial Strategy |
| 4/7/2026 | Michael Baldea | Professor, Chemical Engineering, UT Austin | Electrification of Industry for lower-carbon emissions, the EPIX project |
| 4/14/2026 | Sindhu Nathan | U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology | TBD |
| 4/21/2026 | Erica Belmont | Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Wyoming | TBD |
UT Energy Symposium Talks
October 13, 2011
Impact of Wind Generation Development on Thermal Generation Investments
C.K. Woo, Senior Partner, Energy+Environmental Economics
October 6, 2011
The Eagle Ford Shale: Opportunity and Responsibility
David J. Porter, Texas Railroad Commissioner
September 29, 2011
The Future of Natural Gas in the US
Marianne Kah, Chief Economist, ConocoPhillips
September 22, 2011
New Developments in Solar Photovoltaic Technologies and Markets
Dr. Ryne Rafaelle, Vice President for Research and Associate Provost, Rochester Institute of Technology
September 15, 2011
Smart Grids and the Pecan Street Project
Brewster McCracken, Executive Director, Pecan Street Project
September 8, 2011
Regulatory Mechanisms to Foster Investments in Energy Efficiency
Jay Zarnikau, Adjunct Professor, LBJ School of Public Affairs and President, Frontier Associates
September 1, 2011
Historical Energy Overview & Why There is No Consensus for the Future
Dr. Carey King, Research Fellow, CIEEP, UT Austin