Some of the top minds in the energy industry – including scientists, entrepreneurs, academics, and regulators – will explore the dramatic changes coming in the next decade at the fourth annual Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative (BERC) Symposium, on campus March 3 and 4.
The main part of the student-organized symposium, titled "2020: Envisioning the Future of Global Energy," will occur in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union. The student-organized event is expected to attract a sell-out crowd of 700 for the second straight year. Tickets are $30 for students; $95 for government, nonprofit, or university affiliates; and $200 for the business community. Visit http://berc.berkeley.edu/
New this year is an expanded Innovation Expo, showcasing 80 of the latest discoveries by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley researchers, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. March 3 in the Haas School's Bank of America Forum. The top 35 project teams will then present their technologies at the symposium.
The main conference will begin at 8 a.m. March 4 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union. Following a greeting by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, Federal Regulatory Energy Commissioner Phillip D. Moeller will give a keynote address. The 12 panel topics include solar, biofuel and energy-storage technologies, renewable solutions for developing countries, green jobs and eco-planning as well as infrastructure and post-crisis financing.
This year’s symposium is co-chaired by Erick Dean, MBA 11; David Chen, PhD 10 (Elec. Eng. and Comp. Science); and Bret Strogen, PhD 11 (Civil and Environmental Eng.).
BERC was founded by Berkeley MBA students in 2005 to provide a forum for collaboration on energy and natural resources topics across disciplines, as well as between the university and the private sector. It now represents about 2,300 students. BERC is also sponsoring a new renewable energy case competition a day after the symposium. See related story for more information about the case competition.
