Joint Lecture hosted by WISER Co-Sponsored by ChBE, ECE, MMAE and C2ST - The Future of Solar Energy

The Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER) is hosting a seminar co-sponsored by Armour College of Engineering's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering and the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST). The seminar will feature Robert C. Armstrong, Director of MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Armstrong will present his lecture The Future of Solar Energy.

Abstract

Solar energy holds the best potential for meeting humanity’s future long-term energy needs while cutting greenhouse gas emissions – but to realize this potential will require increased emphasis on developing lower-cost technologies and more effective deployment policy. This lecture presents the results of a comprehensive study on The Future of Solar Energy by the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), which is part of a series of multidisciplinary reports that examine the role various energy sources could play in meeting future energy demand under carbon dioxide emission constraints.

The Future of Solar Energy study reflects the technical, commercial, and policy dimensions of solar energy today and makes recommendations to policymakers regarding more effective federal and state support for research and development, technology demonstration, and solar deployment. Among its major themes is the need to prepare our electricity systems, both technically and from a regulatory standpoint, for very large-scale deployment of solar generation – which tends to vary unpredictably throughout the day. To this end, the study emphasizes the need for federal research and development support to advance low-cost, large-scale electricity storage technologies.

Speaker Bio

Robert C. Armstrong is MITEI’s director and the Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering. A member of the MIT faculty since 1973, Armstrong served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 2007. His research interests include polymer fluid mechanics, rheology of complex materials, and energy.

In 2008, Armstrong was elected into the National Academy of Engineering for conducting outstanding research on non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, co-authoring landmark textbooks, and providing leadership in chemical engineering education. Armstrong has received the Warren K. Lewis Award and the Professional Progress Award in 1992, both from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the 2006 Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, which is devoted to the study of the science of deformation and flow of matter.

Armstrong was the guest editor for the summer issue (2015) of the National Academy of Engineering’s publication, The Bridge, which focused on energy, the environment, and climate change. In the Guest Editor’s note, he wrote about the challenges of meeting energy demands in environmentally responsible ways. Armstrong was a member of The Future of Solar Energy study group and co-edited Game Changers: Energy on the Move with former Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

Please email Prof. Hamid Arastoopour with any questions regarding this seminar. For more information or a downloadable copy of The Future of Solar Energy study, click here.

Please RSVP to Donna Hale (dhale2@iit.edu), or Peg Murphy (murphym@iit.edu) if you plan on attending.

Earn Engineering Themes Credit in Energy for Attending this Seminar