Founding member program
Executive summary
The MIT Energy Initiative — MITEI — was formally launched by President Susan Hockfield in November 2006 to mobilize the capabilities and experience of the Institute to "foster new research in science and technology to increase energy supplies ... bringing scientists, engineers and social scientists together to envision the best energy policies for the future." MITEI is now a broad, Institute-wide initiative designed both to transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today's energy systems. MITEI specifically focuses on Research, Education, Campus Energy Management, and Outreach in all areas of energy production, use, security, and environmental impact.
MITEI's Founding Member Program will provide a critical link in the energy innovation chain — the pairing of MIT's world-class research teams with the best in industry who will be responsible for moving many of the products of this collaboration into the energy marketplace. It will also provide key focus, research opportunities and critical funding for the next generation of energy technologists.
The merging of industry's "real-world" experience, vision and focused energy requirements with the creativity and research capabilities of MITEI's interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, economists, architects and planners, management and innovation experts, and social scientists will provide a powerful transformative tool to help meet the energy "grand challenges" of the 21st century.
Program Governance
Seat on the MITEI Executive Committee
A Founding Member will have a seat on the MITEI Executive Committee consisting of the MIT VP for Research, faculty chair(s) of MITEI, the faculty heads of the "flagship" research thrusts, all MITEI Founding Members and rotating Sustaining Members. The Executive Committee will meet annually to review MITEI's progress, provide strategic input and report to the MIT President.
Seat on the MITEI Governing Board
A Founding Member — along with the Sustaining Members, the faculty chair(s) of MITEI, the MIT Energy Council and the faculty heads of the major research thrusts — will meet at least once a year after MITEI's Annual Research Review Conference. The Board will evaluate MITEI's research portfolio, serve as the Program Advisory Committee to the Energy Research Seed Fund and have access to all of its proposals and results.
Joint Oversight for Member's Sponsored Research
Each Founding Member will designate researchers/managers to form, with MIT PI's, a joint steering committee for overseeing and guiding the sponsored research. With faculty consent, Founding Members may place a researcher in a participating MIT faculty member's lab.
Research Focus Areas
- Advanced Nuclear Fission
- Biofuels
- Buildings/Urban Design
- Conversion
- Enabling Sciences
- Global Climate Change
- Industrial Processes
- Markets and Policy
- Oceans
- Oil and Gas
- Sequestration
- Solar
- Geothermal
- Storage
- Systems/Power
- Vehicles/Transportation Systems
Program Highlights
Sponsored Research Program (SRP)
A Founding Member will direct 75% of its MITEI contribution to targeted research projects or research consortia of special interest (with allowance credit for current energy research funding at MIT). Founding Member contributions beyond the threshold level will be dedicated to the SRP.
Energy Research Seed Fund (ERSF)
A Founding Member will pool 10% of its threshold contribution with that of other MITEI Founding and Sustaining Members to seed early-stage innovative research projects across the campus. The Governing Board will review all ERSF proposals and provide advice to the MITEI Energy Council.
Founding Member Fellowship Program
Founding Member's contribution will support ten Named Energy Fellows at MIT.
MITEI Program Direction
A Founding Member's contribution will support the MITEI program staff, solely dedicated to achieving the goals of the Initiative. Founding Member's contribution will include automatic membership in the MIT Industrial Liaison Program (with credit for current membership).
Research Results
For SRP supported research, a Founding Member shall have the option to obtain a worldwide, royalty-bearing commercial license for patented technology, with the right to sublicense.
In addition, Founding Members will
- work with MIT and a community of firms
- engage with MIT faculty members and students
- receive early access to MITEI related pre-prints and research results of the ERSF
- participate in MITEI short courses and help develop new MIT educational subjects
- receive recognition from MIT in press releases, published papers, talks, and on the MITEI website, and ...
- engage MIT as an "honest broker" in an informed public discourse on the world's future energy and environmental challenges.
