Fifth Energy Week to bring Penn community together around solutions
More than two dozen events held Feb. 10-14 will give students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to learn about energy-related research and work at Penn and beyond.
The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy is holding its Careers in the Energy Sector: Energy Week Alumni Panel again this year, with different alumni.
(Image: T. Kevin Birch)
Penn is holding its fifth Energy Week from Feb. 10-14, with a lineup of daily events for faculty, staff, and students to engage in the latest solutions-focused work happening at Penn and in government and industry.
“We are in a moment with a lot of shifting energy and climate policy at both the federal and the state level. This presents a real opportunity for places like Penn to provide research, education, and community around good, sound policy outcomes,” says Cory Colijn, executive director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, which is co-hosting Energy Week with the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology (VIEST). “We anticipate there being an increased amount of appetite for bipartisan solution-making, and we feel like Penn can be a real platform to advance those conversations.”
“We need opportunities to recognize the good work that we’re doing, to celebrate what everyone on campus is doing every day to try to bring us to energy solutions that get us to the sustainable future that we really need,” says Nadine Gruhn, managing director of VIEST.
“Like our fall Climate Week, Energy Week is one of the great opportunities we have at Penn to showcase the important work we are doing in the energy/climate/sustainability arena,” says Michael Mann, vice provost for climate science, policy, and action. “It offers us an opportunity to engage in a larger conversation with our students, faculty, staff, and community about what we’re doing to address the great challenges we face today.”
Mann gave insights into an event he will participate in on Feb. 13: “Conservative and Concerned About Climate Change? You’re Not Alone,” with Bob Inglis, the executive director of republicEn.org. “I’m thankful to be part of a conversation with my friend Bob Inglis, a leading conservative voice on climate, about what we can do to encourage collaboration across the partisan divide on matters of climate and environmental sustainability,” says Mann. “I hope it’s a model for the sort of progress we can make in the years ahead.”
Feb. 10-14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Kleinman Center (Fisher Fine Arts Building)—An E-Waste Drive gives people the opportunity to responsibly recycle electronics, such as old cell phones and accessories, laptops and keyboards, and batteries.
Monday, Feb. 10, 12-1:30 p.m., Kleinman Center Energy Forum (Fisher Fine Arts Building)—In the Energy Week Lightning Talks, students will present TED-style talks on energy-related research for an audience and panel of judges.
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2-3 p.m., Berger Auditorium (Skirkanich Hall)—In a panel moderated by Chan, three members of the Biden-Harris Administration will discuss their work catalyzing clean energy technology investments in the private sector. This includes Maria Robinson of the Grid Deployment Office, Jigar Shah of the Loan Programs Office, and Giulia Siccardo of the Office of Manufacturing Energy and Supply Chains.
Tuesday, Feb. 11 and Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2-3 p.m. both days, (Penn Museum)—A tour of the Penn Museum collection will focus on ancient climates and energy production, giving participants a chance to learn from people of the past.
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 5-6:30 p.m., Kleinman Center Energy Forum (Fisher Fine Arts Building)—Students interested in a career in the energy sector will benefit from an alumni panel featuring graduates of the School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Wharton School. This includes Derek Wong of Excelerate Energy, Kelly-Ann Corrigan of Runwise, and Lolita K. Jackson of Sustainable Capital LLP.
Friday, Feb. 14, 12-4 p.m., Fisher Fine Arts Library—The Common Press hosts a hands-on studio where participants can print an energy-themed valentine or write an energy-related valentine to a local, state, or federal policymaker.
Griffin Pitt, right, works with two other student researchers to test the conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and temperature of water below a sand dam in Kenya.
Griffin Pitt’s upbringing made her passionate about water access and pollution, and Penn has given her the opportunity to explore these issues back home in North Carolina and abroad.
Rashi Sabherwal, a doctoral student in political science, explores how women engage politically in society in informal roles through her research in India.
Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars
Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration.
