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ETHICS + POLICY by ELIZABETH WALTER

Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy

Rethinking
Power
How can we power our 21st- Credit: sxc.hu
Because energy systems are so inherently
century world while leaving complex, however, individuals from myriad
behind minimal waste and of areas of expertise must convene in order
pollution? For too many years, humans to efficiently pursue research and policy
have been following the same recipe – change.
dig, burn, bury, repeat. For some time,
policy makers and researchers have been To encourage these collaborations, Stanford
considering methods to convert energy established the Precourt Institute for Energy
into useable forms without compromising (PIE), which will become the overarching
our environment and national security. organization dedicated to energy research
In recent years, unpredictable swings in at Stanford. Donations totaling over $100
energy prices and increased geopolitical million brought this institute to life, with
uncertainty have drawn wider attention the hopes that collecting a critical mass
on the questions surrounding energy use. of interdisciplinary researchers will greatly

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ETHICS + POLICY
facilitate basic energy research as well as the solve difficult problems. Orr’s list of Stanford
dissemination of innovative ideas. faculty members already involved in energy
research across campus includes over 130
PIE’s mission is to foster the development faculty distributed across twenty-one
of advanced energy technologies that will departments. To complement these research
allow us to live our modern-day lives while groups, $25 million of the establishing PIE
still protecting the environment. Though donation will be used to hire new faculty,
Stanford already spends $30 million annually “filling in gaps” by adding expertise in
on research dedicated to sustainability and additional energy research areas. From
clean energy, this new initiative will serve as the physics department to mechanical
a parent institute tying together a number engineering and materials sciences, and
of related entities currently present on even the medical school, many labs will have
campus. important roles to play in this endeavor.

Professor Franklin Orr, former project PIE is also committed to supporting


director of Stanford’s Global Climate and student research and education, and the
Energy Project (GCEP), will head the newly Institute hopes to expand the ways that the
formed PIE and will oversee the integration university teaches Stanford students about
of existing energy research centers across energy technology and use. “I love talking
campus. At GCEP, Orr helped cultivate to the students,” says Orr. “They are so

Credit: sxc.hu
projects investigating many aspects of interested and excited and anxious to figure
sustainable energy production – from out a way to contribute.” To facilitate student
solar energy and biomass conversion research, another $20 million will be set
technologies, to the study of new aside for twenty Stanford Interdisciplinary
materials and design for batteries and fuel Graduate Fellowships, designed to support
cells, to innovations in nanotechnology. graduate students for up to three years of
Founded in 2002, GCEP sought ways their career at Stanford. These fellowships
to reduce the environmental impact of will allow talented graduate students to
energy technologies, including reducing work on projects of their choice, even if
greenhouse gas emissions in cost-effective this research spans a number of traditional
and sustainable ways. GCEP will now research boundaries or departments.
become part of PIE, as will another Stanford For example, a student wanting to study
center created in 2006 – the Precourt fundamental materials science that might be
Energy Efficiency Center (PEEC), which aims associated with energy conversions could
to increase energy efficiency by targeting just as easily hail from engineering, chemical
buildings, transportation systems, energy engineering, electrical engineering,
policy, and people’s everyday behaviors. physics, applied physics or any number of
other departments. Orr notes, “There are
PIE as a whole will focus on all aspects of a lot of interesting problems sitting in the
energy issues – from basic research to local boundaries. We want to make it possible for
Credit: sxc.hu

and national policy suggestions. In short, people to work across those boundaries.”
Orr sees PIE as a way to “bring together the
groups of faculty and students and research Orr’s role as director involves collaborating
that are related to energy ... and to make it with department heads and the university
possible to do some things together that administration in order to determine the
best mix of faculty and graduate students to
”We need to take a
go beyond what we are all trying to do
individually.” facilitate energy research at Stanford. As part sustained look at how
of this process, he enjoys the opportunity to
People Power see what is going on in many different labs we humans interact
across campus. “A job like this one gives me
A primary focus of the new Institute will
be to attract top faculty, postdoctoral a mandate to learn about all the talented with the planetary
researchers and graduate students to
tackle energy issues across a number of
people and the research areas that I didn’t
know as well,” says Orr. “What I really hope
systems, because
different disciplines. Given that energy to do is to unleash the talents of a bunch of
people who are smarter than I am. So I’m
humans are now a
conversion and use is an inherently
interdisciplinary topic, PIE wants to ensure just excited about working with a bunch of global force.” – Lynn
really great people.”
that top researchers from diverse scientific
backgrounds continue to come together to Orr
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ETHICS + POLICY

”There are a lot of This endeavor was made possible through


generous donations by a number of
obvious, abundant source of energy is
the sun. Unfortunately, the market price
interesting problems individuals. In particular, Stanford alumnus
Jay Precourt donated $50 million to establish
for converting solar energy into other
forms that can be used to heat and light
sitting in the the overarching PIE. In addition, a $40 our houses, fuel our cars, and power our
million donation by the husband-and-wife computers, is higher than more traditional
boundaries. We want team of Thomas Steyer and Kat Taylor made ways of generating power (e.g. coal and
possible the creation of the new TomKat fossil fuels). However, as Orr notes, “we now
to make it possible for Institute for Sustainable Energy, which will have this ability to create structures at very

people to work across also be housed within PIE. The TomKat


Institute will focus on sustainable sources
small scales – nanostructured materials
– and that allows us to […] change the
those boundaries.” – of energy, as well as the technologies, such
as batteries and nanostructure materials,
properties of those materials – to move
light around, to convert it into electrons, to
Lynn Orr that need to be developed for these sources hook it up with electrochemistry in devices
to become viable suppliers of energy on a like batteries and fuel cells.” A significant
national scale. number of Stanford faculty are already
working on aspects of these problems –
Research inspired by from solar energy conversion to battery and
competition nanostructure technology.
A primary component of PIE is the
establishment of a $20 million fund to In addition, Orr notes that this is “an area
support research project competitions. where we’ll also work on the policy side of
These awards will be up to $200,000 per what it takes to use renewables in a big way.”
year for up to two years in order to pursue Figuring out how to configure our national
innovative energy hypotheses that have not electric grids to handle a whole lot of small,
yet been tested. As Orr explains, the idea is distributed power sources that operate
that these grants will provide “seed funding,” only part of the time (e.g. when the wind is
allowing individuals to perform a proof-of- blowing) is not trivial and requires clout at
concept experiment that would then allow the national level in order to make it happen.
them to write a full-scale proposal that PIE hopes to be part of the conversation that
might be funded by longer-term sources brings these ideas to fruition.
like the National Science Foundation (NSF),
the Department of Energy (DOE) or other Thinking our way to a
agencies. cleaner future
At the foundation of any transformational
Orr is confident that Stanford researchers program are the people – the students,
are up to the task, noting that GCEP has faculty and industry collaborators who flow
run similar, though smaller, competitions through the institute. These individuals
in the past, with a recent round garnering will contribute to energy research in
seventeen proposals. The first PIE project many important ways throughout their
competition was held during the spring lifetimes. Orr is enthusiastic about the role
2009 term. These funding competitions, Stanford will play in shaping our future
while not explicitly interdisciplinary in energy balance. “We hope that we will lay
nature, often foster collaboration across the fundamental basis for a transformed
labs. Many of the projects that were world energy system that has much lower
funded through GCEP included faculty emissions of greenhouse gasses, that
from different departments, and PIE will supplies the energy we need at costs that
also encourage ideas that reach across of are reasonable. We need to take a sustained
traditional boundaries between academic look at how we humans interact with the
disciplines. planetary systems, because we humans are
Credit: sxc.hu
now a global force.”
A bright future
With all of these great minds poised to To Learn More
tackle difficult problems surrounding For more information, visit the Precourt
Institute for Energy Efficiency website at
sustainable energy, how will they harness
http://peec.stanford.edu
clean energy from natural sources? One

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