Unlocking Energy Innovation: How America Can Build a Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Energy System
Professor Richard K. Lester
Professor Davd M. Hart
The MIT Press, 2011.
WATCH THE VIDEO.
How can the energy innovation system be designed to accelerate growth in new low-carbon energy technologies and address the risks of climate change?
How can regions prosper in an increasingly open and rapidly changing global economy?
How can the US capture more of the downstream economic benefits associated with its strengths in innovation in a way that benefits the economy and the population as a whole?
How do companies and regions maintain and further their innovative capacity in a globalizing industry?
The Industrial Performance Center (IPC) is an MIT-wide research unit, based in the School of Engineering. The Center is comprised of faculty members, students and research associates from the Schools of Engineering, Management, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Science, and Architecture and Planning. Our interdisciplinary teams observe, analyze and report on strategic, technological, and organizational developments in a broad range of industries and examine the implications for society and the global economy. More...
SPECIAL IPC EVENT
Professor Richard Lester and Professor David Hart (GMU) will be the featured speakers, along with a panel of experts and a moderator, at a policy discussion in Washington, DC on Tuesday, February 7. This event begins at 10:00 a.m. and is jointly hosted by the MIT Industrial Performance Center and the Bipartisan Policy Center. It will continue the conversation of key areas presented in Lester's and Hart's recently published book, Unlocking Energy Innovation: How America Can Build a Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Energy System. For more information or to request an invitation, click here or contact ipcadmin@mit.edu. Watch the LIVE WEBCAST here.
Professor Michael Piore, Faculty Co-chair of the IPC and longtime expert in labor and union issues, spoke with the MIT News Office about the meaning and impact of this week's high-profile Ohio referendum to restore collective bargaining rights for public employees.
SPECIAL EVENT
Professor Richard Lester will discuss three waves of unlocking energy innovation as presented in his, and Professor David Hart's, new book (see right ): energy efficiency, low-carbon energy supply, and new scientific breakthroughs. The talk is on Monday, November 14 at 5:00 p.m. in Building 66, Room 110. Click here for more information.
SPECIAL IPC EVENT
Professor Richard Lester and Professor David Hart (GMU) will discuss their soon-to-be-published book titled Unlocking Energy Innovation: How America Can Build a Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Energy System at MIT, November 10. The authors' research suggests that energy innovation offers our best chance to solve the three urgent and interrelated problems of climate change, worldwide insecurity over energy supplies, and rapidly growing energy demand. A panel of industry and policy thought leaders will also participate .For more information click here or contact ipcadmin@mit.edu.
The MIT Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity is holding its 6th Annual Manufacturing Summit, Revitalizing US Manufacturing to Capitalize on Innovation, on October 27 and October 28. For more information visit the event site.
The IPC is proud to announce the appointment of visiting scholar Professor Benjamin Temkin, in conjunction with the Department of Political Science. Prof. Temkin is on sabbatical from FLACSO, Mexico and will be conducting research on issues relating to informal employment and globalization, as well as on electoral behavior and politics this academic year.
MIT President Susan Hockfield stresses that investment in the cycle of invention and manufacturing is important in the US. She shared her thoughts in an op ed piece in the NY Times called "Manufacturing a Recovery", published on August 29, 2011. Read a pdf version of the article here.
IPC Executive Director Liz Reynolds was a panelist at the recent Clean Technology Conference and Expo, held in Boston, MA. She and several colleagues discussed issues related to the topic, "Cleantech Regional Cluster Initiatives" on June 15 at the Hynes Auditorium.
IPC Senior Research Affiliate, Timothy Sturgeon, delivered the inaugural lecture at the public launch of the new Industrial Studies Chair in the School of Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in Durban South Africa. The chair was awarded to Professor Justin Barnes, a long-time student of the South African motor vehicle industry and facilitator of the Durban Automotive Cluster.
The IPC hosted a Spring Seminar series that served as a thesis workshop for the center's affiliated students, held during March - May, 2011. To learn more about the series, and for a complete list of doctoral and masters students who participated, and their research topics, click here.
The Boston Globe published a special magazine, on Sunday, May 15, 2011, that celebrates MIT at 150, the 150th anniversary of the Institute. The edition features ideas, inventions, and innovators that have helped shape the world including an introduction written by Bill Gates and a condensed version of President Susan Hockfield's speech from the recently held Next Century Convocation. Click here for corresponding web content.
On Monday, March 14, 2011, the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) held an information session, about the current situation at Fukushima, Japan, for the MIT community. The session was chaired by Prof. Richard K. Lester, head of the department of NSE and faculty director of the IPC. To view this event on TechTV click here.
Suzanne Berger, MIT professor of political science and co-chair of the institute's research panel on reviving US manufacturing, discusses the topic on WBUR's radio program, "Here and Now", January 4, 2011.