Winter 2007
In This Issue:
Focus On Energy
Excerpts from the Report of the 2006 Energy Task Force
“Rapid growth of global energy consumption and slowing discoveries of new fossil energy reserves in recent years have brought the challenge of sustaining national and global energy security into sharp focus. The challenge is compounded by concerns that the combustion of fossil fuels is causing global warming and other environmental changes. Universities must step up to this challenge by training new generations of experts in energy, developing fundamental new energy knowledge and innovative applications of that knowledge, and finally reaching out to educate the public about energy issues and options.
Green architecture makes the Stuckeman Family Building for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture a model of energy conservation on the University Park campus.
At many other major institutions, much of the science and technology infrastructure developed during this period of intensive energy research (the 1970s and '80s) was either lost or redeployed as interest in the topic waned. At Penn State, by contrast, research in all aspects of energy — including alternative energy resources and processing — not only survived to the present, but thrived in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) Energy Institute and in smaller groups scattered across campus.
Given the importance and complexity of providing future energy needs, Penn State should strive to conduct a vibrant basic energy research program while simultaneously evaluating that research in the context of its potential to meet the world's energy challenges at a scale that is environmentally, economically, and socially acceptable. We must be prepared to quickly adjust to emerging research results, account for economic and environmental characteristics of proposed energy solutions, and anticipate social attitudes toward those solutions. We should actively participate in the process of providing information regarding emerging energy trends to the public and in assessing the public's reaction to those trends.
Penn State is well-positioned to be a leader in the development of new knowledge needed to train energy professionals, develop energy technologies, manage energy resources, and implement energy policy. Combined with our heritage of education and engagement, our agricultural, engineering, and science research excellence provides underlying strength in all aspects of the energy challenge. We are well-equipped and ready to lead society into new directions through research, teaching, and outreach. To do so we must act now: we must invest quickly, and we must be prepared to sustain our support for energy science, technology, education, and policy even as the waves of political reversal and cultural vicissitudes wash over us in the coming decades. As an institution, Penn State should pursue this course in energy not simply because it may be opportunistic to do so now, but because it is our responsibility to serve the people of Pennsylvania and the United States.”
From: A Strategic Energy Initiative for Penn State
