U.S. Sen. Lugar to headline Collegiate Energy Summit at Purdue

September 4, 2012  


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar will deliver the keynote address on the future of the U.S. energy program next week at the 4th annual Collegiate Energy Summit on the Purdue University campus.

Sen. Lugar

U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar
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Lugar, who will leave Congress when his sixth term expires in January, is scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 14 in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. His talk is titled, "Our Nation's Energy Future." A question-and-answer session will follow.

The event, organized by the Purdue Energy Forum, will include a student research poster session from 10:10-11:40 a.m. in Mann Hall's upper level atrium. Workshops focused on energy policy, transportation, architecture, nuclear power and electric cars are scheduled from 12:40-3:30 p.m. in Rawls Hall.

"Senator Lugar has been an advocate for energy independence for decades," said Anthony Wurl, president of the Purdue Energy Forum and a senior in nuclear engineering at Purdue. "This event is designed to engage, motivate and encourage college student leaders and others to focus on America's energy challenges, careers, security and research. It also will serve as a terrific networking opportunity for students and other participants."

The 4th Collegiate Energy Summit, which is free and open to the public, also will include student information booths of more than 30 companies and organizations at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship in Discovery Park.

Tours are planned of Purdue's innovative energy facilities including the Birck Nanotechnology Center and Indiana's only research nuclear reactor on a college campus. Hybrid vehicles manufactured by event sponsors will be displayed on the lawn near Mann Hall and the Burton D. Morgan Center in Discovery Park.

Maureen McCann, a Purdue professor of biological sciences and director of the Energy Center, will provide welcoming remarks at 10 a.m. in the Burton Morgan Center, Room 121. To register or for more information, visit www.PurdueEnergyForum.org/.

"We are excited to build on the past successes of the Collegiate Energy Summit, providing outstanding students in Indiana with the opportunity to interact with leading researchers and industry experts to help to lead America toward a more secure and sustainable energy future," said Lugar, who serves as the Republican leader of the Foreign Relations Committee.

"Our nation's security and prosperity are tied directly to energy, and Indiana has much to offer in the biofuel and research areas as we partner to chart our course for the future."

The Purdue Energy Forum, formerly known as the Purdue Energy Club, is a student organization made up of members interested in learning more about, as well as working on, solutions for society's energy challenges. The group, with its motto "Education. Collaboration. Innovation," is focused on every aspect of energy generation, transportation, storage or usage.

"The Purdue Energy Forum emphasizes learning and the principles of energy and energy technology, as well as the new technologies and processes that are being developed today," said Pankaj Sharma, faculty adviser for the Purdue Energy Forum and managing director of the Energy Center. "We have reorganized and re-branded the student organization to reflect new broad vision."

During his nearly 40 years in Congress, Lugar has championed efforts to reduce this nation's reliance on imported oil. Through the Lugar Energy Initiative, he has called for reducing the need for foreign oil by up to 50 percent, saving Americans $33 billion annually.

A fifth-generation Hoosier, Lugar is the Senate's most senior Republican and the longest serving member of Congress in Indiana history. He also is a member and former chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Lugar was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976 and won a sixth term in 2006 with 87 percent of the vote, his fourth consecutive victory by a two-thirds majority.

Media Contacts: Phillip Fiorini, Purdue University, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu

Wayne M. Stanley, Lugar Press Secretary, 202-224-8370, Wayne_stanley@lugar.senate.gov

Sources: Anthony Wurl, 812-344-0624, awurl@purdue.edu

Pankaj Sharma, 765-496-7452, sharma@purdue.edu

Related website:
Purdue Energy Center

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