WHEN: Feb. 13-14, 2007.

EVENT: A two-day symposium, “Energy Science, Technology, and Policy: Facing the Challenge,” at the University of Michigan, featuring leaders in various fields of energy from industry, academia and government. They will present their views on the science, technology and policy challenges.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman will deliver the keynote speech on Feb.13. The symposium is organized by the Office of the Vice President for Research and U-M’s Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, and sponsored by DTE Energy.

Bodman was appointed the 11th Secretary of Energy in February 2005, and previously served the Bush administration as deputy secretary of the treasury, and beginning in 2001, deputy secretary of the department of commerce. Immediately after graduating from MIT, he served as an associate professor of chemical engineering there for six years. After that, he held various top positions in the private sector as a financier and executive.

Throughout his career, Bodman has been an active public servant, serving as the director of MIT’s School of Engineering Practice, and as a former member of the MIT Commission on Education. He also served as a member of the Executive and Investment Committees at MIT, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a trustee of the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum and the New England Aquarium.

U-M launched an energy research initiative in September, with the announcement of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute. The university launched the MMPEI with $9 million, and appointed U-M professor Gary Was as director. The MMPEI will be housed in the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Laboratory, which will be renovated with $11 million in state and university funds.

WHERE: Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

SPONSOR: DTE Energy

The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute (MMPEI) was established in September 2006 with a mission to chart the path to a clean, affordable and sustainable energy future. Building on a foundation of $35M in energy research across U-M, MMPEI will develop, coordinate and promote multidisciplinary energy research and education across U-M, support areas of intellectual activity that constitute existing strengths and infrastructure, establish new faculty and research appointments in growth areas and build bridges between science/technology and public policy, and serve as a unified voice on energy research and education for the University. Focus areas for the energy initiative are carbon-free energy sources, energy storage and conversion, transportation energy and fuels, and energy policy.

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