About 600 people joined energy experts representing a variety of perspectives gathered on the UT Austin campus Feb. 4 – 8, 2019 to explore a wide range of pressing energy issues facing society.
The conference, now in its fifth year, is organized by the student-run Longhorn Energy Club in collaboration with the university’s Energy Institute, and is supported by the KBH Center for Energy, Law & Business and the McCombs Energy Initiative, along with schools and colleges engaged in energy-related research across the UT campus.
In addition to panels and presentations, the Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy Law hosted two days of continuing education courses during the weeklong event. The KBH Center for Energy, Law & Business and the McCombs Energy Initiative also sponsored a one-day symposium, Permian 2025.
Scott Tinker, director of UT’s Bureau of Economic Geology, delivered a keynote address to open the conference, “The Impact of Energy Poverty on the Global Energy Transition.”
Matthew Haley, president of the Longhorn Energy Club, said UT Energy Week provided students a great opportunity to hear from leading experts on a variety of important topics.
This year’s event featured panel discussions on de-carbonization of the U.S. economy, resource adequacy on Texas’ electric grid, prospects for large-scale energy storage, the tipping point for electric vehicles, and more.
“Students had a chance to learn from people who are at the forefront of some critically important issues,” Haley said, noting that the conference also allowed UT students to illustrate their research in a poster competition.
View the complete program, including presentation materials from each of the speakers and panelists, which are linked to participants’ names.
Energy Institute Director Varun Rai said the conference is an example of the spirt of collaboration that is vital to solving complex energy problems.
“This is great example of faculty and students working together to discuss new research and examine key energy issues,” Rai said. “I want to thank our students for their outstanding effort in putting together this excellent program and in creating a forum to demonstrate the breadth and depth of energy expertise at UT Austin.”
This year’s conference also included a tour of UT Austin’s renowned power plant and micro-grid system and continuing education sessions for high-school science teachers.
For more about UT Energy Week 2019, watch a video of the conference featuring Longhorn Energy Club officers.