Oil Fields #13 by Edward Burtynsky, Taft, CA, 2002
Effectively addressing our problem of climate change while enabling the billions of people still stuck in poverty to lift themselves up will require transforming the way that energy is produced, transported, and used. Energy is the world's largest industry, and as a climate scientist I am driven to engage with the problems and opportunities it presents.
Most of my work in energy is through the MIT Energy Club and MIT Energy Conference. The Energy Club is the largest club at MIT, with about 2,500 members, and the conference is the flagship event of the MIT energy community, attracting about 800 people every year, and organized entirely by students. My favorite activity with the Energy Club is organizing our Discussion Series, a weekly round-table discussion covering energy technology, policy, and business. Recent discussion topics include: Natural Hazards and Nuclear Reactor Safety, Energy Use on the Battlefield, the UN Climate Negotiation Process, and High-speed Rail.
At this year's Energy Conference, I was very excited to curate an exhibit of original photographs of energy infrastructure by the world-renown photographer Edward Burtynsky. One of his photographs is shown above. I think that broadening horizons and bringing together analyses from many different disciplines--including basic science, business, engineering, government, and art--will enable us to solve big problems and inspire big changes.
Leaders of the MIT Energy Club at the Department of Energy in Washington, DC.