UNH Speakers Bureau

Energy - The Not-So Bottomless Oil Well and the Alternatives

 

Program Description:

In 1859, Colonel Edwin Drake struck oil in Pennsylvania by drilling. This led to the world’s first oil boom, and oil soon flooded the world market. Many people believed that a global “Hubbert’s peak”—the maximum recoverable oil supply—would be reached in 2000. However, estimates on the ultimate recoverable resource have been increasing, due to a combination of economics and innovation, materialized. The topic examines both sides of the “Hubbert’s peak” debate and their implications for energy policy. If there is a strong case for governments to wean their economies of oil, how do they do it? What low-carbon or alternative technologies bear watching? How will these technologies affect the environment? How long will the world remain reliant on oil considering that industries are 98% dependent on petroleum products? Power point presentation included.


Speaker:

PT Vasudevan

PT Vasudevan is a professor of chemical and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of New Hampshire. He worked for a large petrochemical company for seven years prior to entering teaching. Dr. Vasudevan has won a number of awards including the Tau Beta Pi Outstanding Teacher Award, the CEPS Teaching Excellence Award, the Jean Brierley teaching excellence award, the Excellence in International Engagement award and recently the American Society for Engineering Education New England Section Outstanding Teaching award. For the past 24 years, he has worked in the area of catalysis and biocatalysis. His current research is on Bioenergy.

Other topics offered by PT Vasudevan