The most recent meeting of the Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability took place on June 27, 2012, and included a session focused on issues related to sustainable energy and materials. The purpose of the session was to provide an overview of the landscape of efforts underway on this topic, including identifying key policy, research, and technological gaps. Members heard presentations from experts in the energy field on issues ranging from the future of nuclear and wind energy to the material constraints of energy technologies. Discussion during the session included how to improve collaboration among various sectors with the objective of leveraging research dollars; the types of partnerships needed to create sustainable energy solutions; and new funding mechanisms to further the science in the area of sustainable energy and materials. A brief, individually-authored meeting summary of the session highlights some of the key themes discussed by participants.

Roundtable members were provided with updates on current STS Program activities including Sustainability Linkages in the Federal Government (Report Forthcoming), Symposium on Science, Innovation, and Partnerships for Sustainability Solutions (Summary Forthcoming) and Japan-U.S. Workshop on Sustainable Energy Futures (Summary Forthcoming). Updates on recent STS publications including A Sustainability Challenge: Food Security for All (February 2012), Data Needs for Life-Cycle Assessment (May 2012), and Energy Sustainability: A Focus on Waste Heat Recovery (June 2012) were also provided. Roundtable members participated in breakout group discussions focusing on the path for moving forward with various Roundtable activities including technology for sustainability as well as sustainability and the food x water x energy nexus.

 

 

The National Academy of Sciences

2100 C Street NW

 Washington, DC

 

8:00 am         Breakfast available

 

8:30 am         Welcome, Introductions and Meeting Goals

 

8:50 am         Introduction to Panel

                        Marilyn Brown, Georgia Institute of Technology, Board on Energy and Environmental Systems

 

9:00 am         Defining Sustainable Energy

                        Thomas Wilbanks, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

 

9:30 am         Sustainable Energy at the Department of Energy

 

10:00 am       Break

 

10:15 am       The Future of Nuclear Energy

                        William Ostendorff, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

 

10:45 am       The Future of Wind Energy

                         Doug Pfeister, Offshore Wind Development Coalition

 

11:15 am       Sustainable Energy: A Utility’s Perspective

                         Karl R. Rábago, Rábago Energy LLC

 

11:45 pm       Q&A and Discussion

 

12:00 pm       Lunch

 

1:00 pm          Defining Sustainable Materials

                         Nedal Nassar, Yale University

 

1:30 pm          Material Constraints of Energy Technologies

                         René Kleijn, Leiden University

 

2:00 pm          Open Discussion

 

2:30 pm          Break

 

Current Activities (Ann Bartuska, STS Roundtable Co-Chair)

2:45 pm          Sustainability Linkages in the Federal Government 
                         Thomas Graedel, Yale University

 

3:00 pm          Sustainability Symposium: Science, Innovation, and Partnerships for Sustainability Solutions: May 16-18, 2012 
                         Neil Hawkins, Dow Chemical Company / B. L. Turner II, Arizona State University

 

3:15 pm          Japan-U.S. Workshop on Sustainable Energy Futures: June 26, 2012

                         Mary Neu, U.S. Department of Energy

 

3:30 pm          STS Publications Updates

3:35 pm          Breakout Discussions

4:30 pm          Report Back and Discussion of Breakouts

 

4:45 pm          Wrap up (Thomas Graedel / Ann Bartuska, STS Roundtable Co-Chair)

 

5:00 pm          Adjourn