September 2, 2008
Discovery Park leads Green Week energy-environment discussion
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
Several guest lectures, organized by the Energy Center, Center for the Environment and the Purdue Climate Change Research Center, are planned for Sept. 19 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by a town hall forum from 2:30-4 p.m. Purdue's Green Week runs from Sept. 15-19.
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"We cannot address the grand challenges of environment and climate change in a silo. Global energy needs must enter the discussion," said event organizer John Bickham, director of the Center for Environment and professor of forestry and natural resources. "These Purdue centers are now focused on how these challenges converge."
The events, which will be in Purdue's Stewart Center, are free and open to the public. The lineup for Sept. 19 includes talks by:
* James Hurrell, senior scientist and director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, from 8-9 a.m. in Room 218-AB. A Purdue graduate, Hurrell leads the center's Climate and Global Dynamics Division, which partners with universities and researchers to explore the atmosphere and its relationship with the sun, oceans, the biosphere and humans.
* David Hawkins, director of climate programs at the National Resources Defense Council, from 9-10 a.m. in Room 218-AB. An expert on coal technology and carbon capture and storage, he has spent three decades with the National Resources Defense Council researching clean air, energy and now climate change. He served with the Environmental Protection Agency as assistant administrator for Air, Noise and Radiation in President Carter's administration from 1977-81.
* Eugene Brower, former mayor of North Slope Borough, Alaska, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Room 218-AB. Brower was born in Barrow, Alaska, grew up living a subsistence-based lifestyle and has been a whaler for 50 years. He is now president of the Barrow Whaling Captains' Association.
* John Wall, a top executive at Columbus, Ind.-based engines and power generation systems manufacturer Cummins Inc., from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Room 218-AB. Wall, a graduate in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined Cummins in 1986 and now serves as the company's vice president and chief technical officer. He also is an expert in engine technology and the effects of diesel fuel on exhaust emissions.
The town forum, which runs from 2:30-4 p.m. in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall, will include a summary of findings from the day's discussion and a question-and-answer session with several panelists from the morning lectures.
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A poster session and reception, scheduled from 4-6:30 p.m. Sept. 18, is open to students, researchers and others from across campus and the community. Awards will be presented in three divisions: undergraduate, graduate and a category open to the entire community.
The Green Week activities on Sept. 18 and 19 are themed "Hot, Flat and Crowded: A Discussion - Research at the Intersection of Climate, Environment and Energy Technologies," in connection with the new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Thomas Friedman.
Green Week will culminate with a talk by Friedman at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 in the Elliott Hall of Music. Tickets, which are free but required for his talk, are available at Elliott Hall. Friedman's new book, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How It Can Renew America," will be released Monday (Sept. 8), and a book signing at Purdue is planned.
Green Week is being organized by the College of Engineering, including its Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Global Engineering Program, as well as the School of Mechanical Engineering, the Center for the Environment, Energy Center, Office of the Provost and the Purdue Climate Change Research Center.
Writer: Phillip Fiorini, (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Sources: John Bickham, (765) 494-5146, bickham@purdue.edu
Jay Gore, (765) 494-2122, gore@purdue.edu
Paul Shepson, (765) 494-7441, pshepson@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Journalists who want to interview guest speakers or need more information about Green Week can contact Phillip Fiorini, (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu , or Judi Austin, (765) 494-2432, jbaustin@purdue.edu
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