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Energy Club @ Georgia Tech collaborated with the Institute to host their annual Southeastern Energy Conference on Feb. 28 and March 1. The theme of this year’s conference was “Going Global — Energy’s Place on the World Stage.” They hosted multiple panels where policy experts, investors and engineers discussed cutting-edge energy topics like grid cybersecurity, the future of hydrogen power, microgrids and global sustainable development.
The conference also featured a student research symposium and two keynote speakers from the Institute: John Tien, a distinguished fellow at Tech and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Tim Lieuwen, Tech’s recently confirmed Executive Vice President for Research.
Samuel Woolsey, second-year ME, organized the conference. He told the Technique that chose speakers relevant to the theme of global development because engineering and technology, especially in the energy sector, relies on changing political and financial factors.
“This is a topic that is very personally important to me because it [combines] the two areas I see myself going into with a career: international affairs and energy. Also, it is really important the way that they’re intertwined, and I feel that at Georgia Tech, often we’re only talking about the technology and not the ways in which the technology … affects the way that things go on in the world,” Woolsey said.
Woolsey chose keynote speakers that educated students on the nuances of emerging issues on the grid, equipping them with industry-relevant knowledge to succeed in energy jobs or research. Analytical models that project ways to achieve net-zero depend on a multitude of economic and political factors, and Lieuwen gave students advice on how to navigate them in their careers.
“When you’re growing and learning about energy, develop a filter. You have to sort through models that are mostly myth,” Lieuwen said.
Several conversations on hydrogen and nuclear power also discussed how these greener forms of generation factor into the energy transition. In a panel about global nuclear generation, Seth Grae, Chairman for the American Nuclear Society’s International Council, explained that a green energy portfolio with significant nuclear generation requires large scale, international collaborations on repeatable models. By adopting similar technologies, nuclear plants can work off precedent, which can enhance regulatory processes and develop a supply chain that can accommodate nuclear growth.
The panels gave students a holistic account of each issue at hand, incorporating engineering, policy and investments experts. Woolsey said this was his intention when seeking out speakers for the conference. One panel featured the Bahamian Minister of Energy, Hon. JoBeth Coleby-Davis, who discussed her strategy to implement new grid technology in developing countries like the Bahamas.
“I tried to focus on getting someone from academia, someone from industry, and maybe someone with a policy or government perspective also someone with a technical perspective to draw on the engineers,” Woolsey said.
Woolsey expressed gratitude to the Institute for their support in facilitating the event and finding speakers. Ranking No. 3 in energy and fuels research, many Tech alumni have made significant contributions to the industry. Many of them are involved in Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute, which supports energy research and investments.
“Energy club’s aim has always been to advance discussion about these pressing energy challenges,” said Tejaswi Manoj, second-year ECE and Energy Club president. “That really aligns with what the Strategic Energy Institute aims to do, which is just foster research and education in this industry. They’ve always been extremely supportive of our events, and [this year] they helped us get connected with the speakers.”
Multiple faculty from the Institute also shared their expertise on grid cybersecurity. Juan Villareal, M.S. Cybersecurity ‘24, explained how as technology advanced, digital devices started to protect the grid instead of electromechanical relays, and it left critical infrastructures exposed to cyber attacks from foreign entities. He told students that supplementing their degree with cybersecurity would make them an invaluable asset in industry.
“As an electrical engineer, you think more about physical cybersecurity, especially when they are producing [circuit] boards. Some companies can put foreign components that are used to track data. Bringing this to a broader scale and learning that there could be more danger than we previously thought was really interesting,” said Lily Alterman, first-year ECE.
After lunch, Energy Club hosted a student research symposium where graduate students presented energy research to judges for a chance to win $300. Li Zhang (MS MSE) placed first in the symposium for his research about the vapor-phase infiltration of titanium oxide with dyes to create photocatalysts. Energy Club president says that events like these are an important part of the club’s mission to encourage academic research in energy.
Manoj says that this is just one of the ways Energy Club promotes student research. They also encourage students to work on interdisciplinary energy projects using the club’s resources and Tech’s labs and makerspaces on campus. Currently, students are developing a sidewalk that will generate electricity for Tech’s grid just by people walking on it.
“We are currently working on building a piezoelectric sidewalk project on campus which is going to be built right next to the [Price Gilbert Memorial] Library. We are planning to get at least 50 piezoelectric tiles, ones that are also solar panels. This is an example of just one project that we’re working on with GTRI and SEI,” Manoj said.
At their conference, Energy Club demonstrated their continued commitment to fostering grid technology development and preparing students for the energy industry. To learn more about them or join the club, visit energyclub.gatech.edu.
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