May 9-10, 2013 marked the 6th annual Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center Energy Symposium, themed Solar Electricity. Large-scale adoption of photovoltaics (PV) is still prohibitive due to higher costs when compared to the other forms of energy available today. To drive the PV module and system prices down and thus increase implementation, researchers around the world are developing new types of solar cells using transformative technologies and materials that go beyond the current silicon-based panels. The renowned speakers at the 2013 conference outlined the current state-of-the-art in the development of 3rd generation solar cells via nanotechnology, new energy-harvesting processes, novel materials, and economics.

On March 26, instructors Brad Sageman (Earth & Planetary Sciences), Lynne Kiesling (Economics), and Mark Sheldon (Philosophy) introduced the first class of Spring Quarter 2012 for ISEN 230: Climate Change and Sustainability: Economic and Ethical Dimensions. This course presents an interdisciplinary analysis of the economics and ethics underlying a sustainable approach to climate change, including an introduction of the scientific evidence for anthropogenic global warming, a discussion of the political economy and regulatory landscape of sustainability in relation to the climate, and an exploration of the ethics of resource use, conservation practices, and environmentalism.

On March 1, the Clean Energy Trust announced Hyrax Energy as the early-stage business winner of the second annual Clean Energy Challenge and NuMat Technologies, a student-led company from Northwestern University, as the winner of the Student Challenge.  Each company received a $100,000 grand prize sponsored by the Department of Energy.  NuMat Technologies, a materials-based startup, has developed a proprietary computational screening tool for rapidly identifying and testing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). NuMat also developed a complimentary, low-cost approach to synthesize, purify, stabilize and experimentally evaluate MOFs.

On February 24, students from a variety of backgrounds advanced their research capabilities by learning about agent based modeling and using Argonne National Laboratory's REPAST (Recursive Porous Agent Simulation Tool) agent-based modeling toolkit. The one-day training workshop introduced them to the foundational ideas of agent-based modeling and its modeling approaches through informative lectures and hands-on work sessions.

Illinois Research Development & Innovation Day is an annual event organized by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (ISTC), featuring representatives from many of Illinois' world-class research institutions (including ISEN, on behalf of Northwestern) and businesses to showcase their ongoing research efforts with a special focus on innovation and economic development. The event highlighted the collective strengths of Illinois-based research institutions and connected the research being done in Illinois to the innovative businesses that are advancing science and technology in Illinois and throughout the country. (Featured on a luncheon energy & sustainability panel: ISEN co-director David Dunand)

On October 6, 2011, ISEN sponsored a panel-led discussion on the future of smart grid technology and consumer empowerment and engagement. Featuring panelists Luke Clemente (General Manager, Metering and Sensing Systems, GE), Lynne Kiesling (Distinguished Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Economics, Northwestern), Diego Klabjan (Assoc. Professor Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, Northwestern), Val Jensen (Vice President, Marketing & Environmental Programs, ComEd), and moderated by Gerald Keenan (Managing Director, Palmer Bellevue, LLC).

Professor Yip-Wah Chung is teaching undergraduate students for ISEN 210 for the Fall ’11 quarter. The course, Introduction to Energy Systems for the 21st Century provides a broad overview of energy issues and is geared to an interdisciplinary student population.

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Professor Yarrow Axford is teaching ISEN 410 – Topics in Contemporary Energy & Climate Change during the Fall ’11 quarter. ISEN Cluster Fellows, along with other graduate students from a wide range of disciplines, are introduced to energy and climate change topics by Professor Axford and other guest lecturers.

On August 24, 2011, Northwestern President Morty Schapiro signed an agreement with the Wanxiang Corporation to institute a new Study Abroad program. As part of President Barack Obama’s “100,000 Strong” initiative, the new Wanxiang Fellows Program will send 12-20 Northwestern students to China to work on one of the world’s most important challenges, the development of sustainable green energy technologies. More information available here.

ISEN is pleased to have been a co-sponsor of an exciting program offered this year at UIC. The Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy (SISE) was an 8-day program in early August, during which time students were intensely immersed in lectures, panel discussions, tours of energy and environmental sites, and group projects addressing energy and sustainabilty challenges. Graduates of the Institute achieved a focused overview of the technical hurdles and potential solutions to our future energy infrastructure, the economic and social barriers to implementation, the policy and planning needed to implement sustainable energy, and the entrepreneurship that will deliver innovative energy technologies.

In June 2011, ISEN sponsored undergraduate students accepted to the Argonne National Laboratory workshop on Energy and Environmetnal Systems Analysis, using the Argonne Energy and Power Evaluation Program (ENPEP-BALANCE). In learning to use the ENPEP-BALANCE model, undergraduate participant learned how to determine long-term energy supply and demand balances, evaluate energy policies, energy efficiency, and renewable resource implications, analyze environmental emissions from the energy sector and assess long-term energy sector development strategies.

On June 2, 2011, ISEN co-sponsored the Emerging Opportunities for Nanostructured Semiconductor Systems (EONS) Conference. The workshop brought leaders engaged in cutting edge research in the field of energy conversion and the physics of narrow gap semiconductors to overview recent developments and discuss future directions and opportunities. The workshop themes included bulk, film and nanostructured materials and devices (e.g., thermoelectrics, photovoltaics) as well as novel physics (e.g., topological insulators) and novel characterization techniques for semiconductors.

On May 24, 2011, the Entrepreneur@NU Conference highlighted the best of the Midwest entrepreneurial ecosystem from web-based startups to medical device companies to energy businesses that are all based in and around the Chicago area. The NU Venture Challenge also coincided with Entrepreneur@NU. NUVC is a student-run competition providing a platform for entrepreneurial students to experience first-hand the process of cultivating a business idea from scratch. The competition includes an energy and sustainability category.

On May 12 & 13, 2011, ISEN co-hosted the fourth annual Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center (ANSER) Symposium, “Solar Electricity for the Future”, featuring keynote speaker Harry Atwater (Cal Tech).

On May 5, 2011, Ken Cohen, NU alum and Vice President of Public and Government Affairs at ExxonMobil spoke to a mixed crowd of students, faculty, staff and Evanston community members.