Researchers to speak at energy conference

Submitted by Ben Ellis
Phone: 907-771-2443
10/15/07

UAF scientists will join hundreds of researchers, academics, government leaders, industry representatives and arctic residents participating in the Arctic Energy Summit Technology Conference, Oct. 15-18, 2007 in Anchorage at the Egan Center. The conference includes four days of presentations on the technical aspects of energy in the Arctic, panel discussions on policy and rural energy challenges, and a two-day energy exposition.

Speakers include: Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, president of Iceland; Evgeny Velikhov, president of the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow; Julian Evans, British Consul General; Patricia Cochran, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council; Dan Sullivan, U.S. assistant secretary of state; U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens, Gov. Sarah Palin; and Bud Fackrell, vice president of BP. UAF-related research presentations include:

• Jessica Cherry, a postdoctoral fellow with UAF’s Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, will give presentations on the economic impacts of climate variability on hydropower and the feasibility of climate monitoring that benefits science and industry.
• Rajive Ganguli, associate professor in mining engineering, is presenting findings which show that since low rank Alaska coal contains higher levels of volatile material than bituminous coal, it doesn’t need to be ground as fine as bituminous coal when used in power plants. His research may improve the saleability of Alaska coal.
• Dennis Witmer, director of the Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory, will speak on the engineering issues associated with fuel cells and hydrogen for rural Alaska. He will review current technologies being tested at UAF.
• Richard Wies, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, will discuss electric power production in arctic villages, including a study of the efficiency and environmental impacts of integrating renewable energy sources into power systems.
• Larre Brouhard, UAF master’s candidate, will present work on his master’s thesis, "Effects of Rising Electric Load and Ambient Air Temperature on Diesel Electric Generators in Alaska Rural Villages."
• Chuen-Sen Lin, associate professor of mechanical engineering, will present a study on potential fuel savings through heat recovery from diesel exhaust for Alaska village generators.
• John Davies and Jack Hébert of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center will present their Hybrid Micro Energy Project, a collaborative two-year project to test and monitor a system composed of solar photovoltaic panels, solar thermal collectors, wind generators and a biomass-based, combined heat and power unit.

CONTACT: Marmian Grimes, UAF public information officer, at 907-474-7902 or via e-mail at marmian.grimes@uaf.edu or Ben Ellis at 907-771-2443 or via e-mail at bellis@institutenorth.org.

ON THE WEB: https://www.confmanager.com/main.cfm?cid=680