 |
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A symposium next week in Carbondale will feature some of the state's leading energy experts who will examine the industry's future and possible impact on consumers.
"Energy Debate: Preparing for the Future … Now!" is from 6-8 p.m., Sept. 8, at the Town Square Pavilion in downtown Carbondale. Energy industry and academic experts will debate issues surrounding fossil fuels and alternative energy; the origins of rising energy prices; and mechanisms and timetable for transition to sustainable energy.
The SIU Coal Extraction and Utilization Research Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, along with Carterville resident Dennis Pinigis, who is the debate moderator, are event sponsors.
The event is free. The public may send questions prior to the debate to advancedenergy@siu.edu or submit them on an "Energy Debate" page on Facebook. Seating will be available. Details on an alternate location will be available on the website in the event of severe weather. The audience and speakers can gather at Global Gourmet, 102 E. Jackson St., Carbondale, an hour before the debate and again after the event for additional conversation and networking opportunities.
"I believe the energy debate is important for the future of SIU and the region," said Tomasz Wiltowski, center director. "We need to start the conversation about the actions we can take now in order to face the energy challenges of the future. The Coal Research Center hopes to serve as a hub for resources and programs to help our communities overcome their energy challenges."
Pinigis, the debate moderator, is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and has a master's degree in environmental engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is author of the 2010 book, "It's the Price of Oil, Stupid," which examines ways for energy to be at the "forefront of a plan to return our country to economic prosperity."
The panelists are: Phil Gonet, president of the Illinois Coal Association; Brad Richards, executive vice president with the Illinois Oil and Natural Gas Association; Rob Newbold, board director, Illinois Solar Association; Kevin Wright, president, Illinois Competitive Energy Association; and Sylvia Secchi, an assistant professor in agribusiness economics at SIU Carbondale.
More information on the debate and panel members is available at advancedenergy.siu.edu/events/index.html, or by calling Amy McMorrow Hunter, SIU Carbondale technology transfer specialist, at 618/453-4556. In addition to the website and Facebook, updates will be available through SIU Research on Twitter via @siucresearch.
CARBONDALE — SIU Carbondale is one of nine universities nationwide receiving funding from President Barack Obama’s administration to help develop better clean coal technology as a domestic energy resource.The U.S. Department of Energy is giving SIU roughly $300,000 to partner with the Gas Technology Institute to work on using titanium carbide and titanium diboride powders as coatings to protect coal boiler and turbine parts from corroding. Success in using the powders would mean operating the machinery would cost 50 percent less than it does now, officials said.SIU will invest a little more than $142,000 for its share toward the project.All of the DOE awards are going to student-led teams working in the area of clean coal technology, spurring what the Obama administration hopes is a viable option for power in the clean energy economy. They represent part of more than $5 billion the president has allocated to clean coal research and development, an investment the administration says has attracted more than $10 billion in private funding.“These university research projects will help build on extensive progress made by this administration to promote innovative technologies that help make coal-fired energy cleaner and more cost-competitive, while training the next generation of scientists and engineers in cutting-edge clean coal technologies,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said.
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A long-time researcher at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will lead its flagship coal research center on an ongoing basis, after serving as its interim leader since last summer.
Tomasz S. Wiltowski, professor of mechanical engineering and energy process, will become director of the Coal Extraction and Utilization Research Center. Wiltowski, who has served as interim director since September, follows John Mead, who retired last year.
“Dr. Wiltowski is an award-winning scholar and teacher who has earned a reputation nationally and internationally for his expertise and leadership,” Chancellor Rita Cheng said. “He has been an important member of the coal research center for many years, and I look forward to his continuing contributions to the center and to the University.”
Wiltowski said he was extremely happy and proud of the appointment, and that he wants to identify opportunities that will most benefit the center and SIU Carbondale.
“I want to see what the center can bring to the conversation on campus in new ways,” Wiltowski said. “When I'm speaking about risk taking, I'm thinking about the risks you take when you allow yourself to think differently, when you allow yourself to look at something and see a new thing you wouldn't have seen otherwise. I think this is what colleges actually give us all.”
Wiltowski said intellectual environments give researchers the opportunity to push boundaries.
“My hope is that we can contribute to that, and that’s a really big endeavor,” he said. “That's an endeavor that stays with all of us through our whole life because people become very patterned and very comfortable. It's often extremely uncomfortable to think outside of convention. My hope is that the Coal Research Center will be a center of integration across all disciplines and departments that will be able to complement, enhance, enrich and inspire.”
Wiltowski earned his Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Technical University, Cracow, Poland, in 1974 and earned his doctorate in catalysis from the Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences in 1984. He arrived at SIU Carbondale in 1985 and has worked with the staff of the Coal Research Center since 1990.
His research interests include coal and biomass gasification, hydrogen production, Fisher-Tropsch synthesis of liquid fuels, and heterogeneous catalysis, and he has brought in at least 39 grants from state and federal agencies and private industry, totaling more than $8.5 million, to pursue such research over the years. Wiltowski also has three patents to his name and is the recipient of multiple awards.
Wiltowski said ensuring a sustainable and reliable energy supply is an extremely complicated problem at all levels of the energy supply chain, and he wants the center to contribute to that goal. He said his vision for the future of the center comes from his commitment to excellence in research and teaching, and his roles with Coal Research Center and Coal Development Park, where he serves as associate director.
“The ultimate goal of that vision is to enhance the international and national reputation of the center and raise its standing to the top centers in energy,” Wiltowski said. “Research and creative activity are essential components of the mission of a major research university such as Southern Illinois University Carbondale. University research centers contribute to that mission in a measure that exceeds what individual faculty members can achieve in the absence of the Center. The synergy in a multidisciplinary research centers offers a unique resource that the University can exploit to support scholarly productivity and to increase external funding.”
Wiltowski said the center should serve as a center of excellence for coal, energy and environmental research, with its mission to advance coal and energy research enterprises and help the University become a preeminent research university. It should promote research, community education, faculty development and support, scholarship, and service, he said.
“The center will accelerate the pace of quality research by fostering collaboration between investigators, promoting innovation, and assuring adherence to ethical and regulatory standards,” he said. “So the primary goals will be its continued success as a nationally and internationally valued coal and energy research resource and high faculty achievement and satisfaction.”
Scholarly productivity, research grants and attracting exceptional faculty and graduate students are all ways the center can help the University get a return on its investment in it, Wiltowski said.
Agency: US Dept. of Energy
Program: Advanced Oxy-combustion Technology Development and Scale-up for New and Existing Coal-fired Power Plants
Summary: This Funding Opportunity (FOA) is specifically focused on developing advanced oxy-combustion technologies for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) capture that can be applied to new or
retrofit/repowered coal-based power plants. It is also anticipated that the technologies developed under this FOA may also have application to natural gas-fired plants, and industrial boilers as well.
Expected Number of Awards: 10
Estimated Total Program Funding: $10,000,000
Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
Program Contact: Angela Harshman (412-386-5038 or angela.harshman@netl.doe.gov)
For More Info: www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=145074 or www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/?doc=DE-FOA-0000636&agency=DOE
