Professor Jonathan Story focused on “China and Global Energy Markets.” Photos by Rensselaer/Jessica Otitigbe

In an effort to provide an opportunity for members of the Rensselaer campus to hear and discuss perspectives related to energy on a global and national scale, Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management & Technology hosted a “Special Forum on Energy Policy” Nov. 9. The event featured lectures from visiting Lally faculty members Jonathan Story, Marusi Visiting Professor of Global Business and Political Economy, and the Shell Fellow of Economic Transformation, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France; George Markowsky, Visiting Professor of Management & Technology, and professor of computer science and mathematics at the University of Maine, Orono; and Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson.

“This special forum on energy policy held within the university setting created great opportunities for learning and dialogue about the issues and challenges associated with energy policy on a national and global scale,” said David Gautschi, dean of the Lally School. “This forum featured the presentation of three provocative perspectives: one on the global influences of energy policy choices that China faces, another accounting of the effects of the Ukrainian remediation program following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster of 1986, and a final one on a novel way to think about energy security. The presentations and discussions magnified the interplay between technology, institutions, markets, and the human condition.”

More than 100 people including Rensselaer students, faculty, and staff attended the event that was held in the auditorium of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. Other members of the audience included 19 engineers and managers from the China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC) who are participating in an executive education program developed by the Lally School. CTGPC is a company known for the construction of the world’s largest hydropower dam located in the Xilingxia gorge, one of the three gorges along China’s Yangtze River.

The Lally School is committed to developing domain expertise in three areas: health care, energy, and the global information and telecommunications industries, according to Gautschi. In the future, the school plans to organize similar workshops, forums, and conferences focused on the three areas in order to engage all of the members of the Rensselaer community.

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Published November 20, 2006