Dr. Paul Debevec, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Illinois, will discuss “Understanding the energy challenge: Science, Technology, Economics and Policy” on Friday, Oct. 18, at 4:10 p.m. in Walter 245. His talk is part of the Physics and Astronomy Fall 2013 Colloquium series.
Dr. Paul Debevec
“The United States and other developed nations employ fossil fuels for their primary energy resource. Continued dependence on fossil fuels is made problematic by the effects of climate change and pollution, the dependence on uncertain imports, and the increased demand from developing and underdeveloped nations,” he says in his abstract.
“Recent technological advances in fossil fuel extraction may extend their horizon, but these resources are limited. A transition from fossil fuels to sustainable resources within the next few decades appears to be mandatory, but a clear pathway for this transition is still to be developed. Each available option—biomass, geothermal, hydropower, nuclear, solar, and wind—has advantages and disadvantages, risks and rewards. Some options are relatively mature, and some options may enjoy advances and even breakthroughs.
“Energy should be a paramount issue for all citizens, but the many interconnections of science, technology, economics, and policy, however, make energy a daunting problem. A few basic principles from each discipline, however, make it possible to begin to understand the energy challenge,” he says.
Remaining in the Fall 2013 series are held at 4 p.m. on Fridays at 4:10 p.m.
Oct. 18—Dr. Paul Debevec, University of Illinois, on “Understanding the Energy Challenge: Science, Technology, Economics and Policy.”
Oct. 25—Dr. Brian McNamara, University of Waterloo, on “Outflows from Supermassive Black Holes.”
Nov. 1—Dr. Hilmi Volkan Demir, of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Bilkent University, Turkey, on “Nanocrystal Optoelectronics for Quality Lighting”
Nov. 8—Dr. John Kopchick, Professor of Molecular Biology at Ohio University, on “Growth Hormone, Mini-mice, Football, Dirty Shorts and a New Drug.”
Nov. 15—Duncan Lorimer, of West Virginia University, on “Fast Radio Bursts: a new cosmological course population?”
Nov. 22—Jairo Sinova, of Texas A&M University, on “New Twists in Spintronics: anomalous Hall effect, spin-helix transistors and topological thermoelectrics.”
Dec. 6—Chang Kee Jung, on SUNY Stony Brook, on “Neutrino Oscillations from T2K.”
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