MIT President Susan Hockfield will argue for a sharp increase in federal funding for energy-related research during a pair of visits to Washington in the coming week.
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, Hockfield will testify before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which is chaired by Massachusetts Congressman Edward Markey. The committee was created last year to address issues related to the urgent challenges of oil dependence and climate change.
The hearing, "Investing in the Future - R&D needs to meet America's Energy and Climate Challenges," will be webcast on the committee's web site starting at 10 a.m.
A week after her appearance on Capitol Hill, Hockfield will be back in Washington for a press conference on energy at the National Press Club, along with energy industry leaders and the director of a national laboratory. The four speakers will again be calling for increased investment in basic energy research.
Hockfield's testimony is an outgrowth of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), an ambitious, Institute-wide effort to provide an objective analysis of the policies and technologies that will transform the energy landscape. In addition to a range of important scientific and engineering advances, MITEI has already generated landmark reports on nuclear, geothermal and coal technologies, with future reports in the works on solar power, cap-and-trade policy and other energy approaches.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 10, 2008 (download PDF).
