A number of experts from Rice University will appear at CERAWeek, an annual energy conference organized by the information and insights company S&P Global, to present their research and industry expertise March 10-14. Faculty and university leaders will contribute to key discussions at the week’s Executive Conference, Innovation Agora and Partner Programs, addressing the most pressing challenges in the energy sector such as decarbonization, artificial intelligence and scaling.
The week also features the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship’s annual Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition March 12, where 36 energy ventures driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition will pitch their companies in front of industry experts and investors for cash prizes. The event is co-hosted with the Houston Energy Transition Initiative and TEX-E.
The top three ventures from each industry track will be named at the conclusion of the event with the best score advancing to the Startup World Cup Competition in San Francisco. The final track is a university track for the TEX-E prize — winners will receive a total of $50,000 in cash prizes to advance their ventures. A free pitch preview at the Ion March 11 can be registered for here.
Rice experts and their panels at CERAWeek include:
Ramamoorthy Ramesh, executive vice president for research and professor of materials science and nanoengineering and physics and astronomy
- Monday, March 10 – 2:30-3 p.m.
- Which Technologies are Ready for Gigaton Scale?
- Wednesday, March 12 – 3:30-4 p.m.
- Primary Energy Fallacy
Kenneth Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
- Monday, March 10 – 7-8:30 a.m.
- Future Energy Leaders Breakfast
Matteo Pasquali, the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, professor of chemistry and materials science and nanoengineering and director of Rice’s Carbon Hub
- Tuesday, March 11 – 9:30-10 a.m.
- Collaboration Spotlight: The Carbon Hub — A Public-Private Partnership Leading the Way to a Sustainable Carbon Economy
- Thursday, March 13 – 9:30-10 a.m.
- The State of Industrial Decarbonization as Seen from Environmental Philanthropy and Academia
- Thursday, March 13 – 10:30-11:35 a.m.
- Executive Conference - Strategic Roundtable: Materials Transition
Haotian Wang, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering
- Tuesday, March 11 – 9:30-10:15 a.m.
- Next-Generation Electrolyzers and Electrolysis
Carrie Masiello, the W. Maurice Ewing Professor of Biogeochemistry, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, professor of chemistry and biosciences and director of Rice’s Sustainability Institute
- Wednesday, March 12 – 11:30-12:15 p.m.
- Valuing Nature-Based Solutions for CO2 Removal
Aditya Mohite, faculty director of Rice Engineering Initiative for Energy Transition and Sustainability (REINVENTS) and the William M. Rice Trustee Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Thursday, March 13 – 9:30-10:15 a.m.
- Plasma Foundry for Scalable Industrial Decarbonization
Paul Cherukuri, Rice’s chief innovation officer and head of the Office of Innovation
- Thursday, March 13 – 1-1:30 p.m.
- State of Clean Energy Innovation: Going Fast, Going Slow?
Anshumali Shrivastava, associate professor of computer science, electrical and computer engineering and statistics
- Thursday, March 13 – 1:30-2 p.m.
- University Innovations: The Next Wave of AI
Geoff Wehmeyer, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and REINVENTS faculty expert
- Nominated for Future Energy Leaders special program
Qilin Li, professor of civil and environmental engineering, co-director of the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center and REINVENTS faculty expert
- Nominated for Women in Energy special program