August 22, 2011 —
USC Energy Institute was host to Dr. Steven Koonin, Under Secretary of Energy for Science, he was welcomed by Provost Elizabeth Garrett.Dean Yannis Yortsis highlighted the history and current status of USC’s energy related research programs, including those in fossil energy and geothermal energy. Dr. Koonin’s talk was titled: A conversation on the future of energy and energy research. He outlined different DOE programs to help address many of the current challenges and to enhance our chances for reducing the dependency on fossil oil in the future. At the conclusion of the speech, Dr. Don Paul, Executive Director of USC Energy Institute led a discussion session. Professor Fred Aminzadeh, Executive Director of Center for Geothermal Studies had brief discussion with Dr, Koonin on the value of leveraging opportunities and technology transfer between fossil oil and geothermal energy related research and training. Some photos from the event are shown below.