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Joint Seminar – CGEP & Chemical Engineering: Catalysis and Communications for a Carbon-Constrained World

Past Event

November 14, 2017

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

The Center on Global Energy Policy and the Columbia University Chemical Engineering Department hosted a presentation by Mark Barteau, Director, University of Michigan Energy Institute.

In this era of relatively abundant fossil fuel resources, the challenge of limiting and reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations has become even greater. There is an increasing need to consider “all of the above” carbon strategies, in addition to our “all of the above energy” strategy. Engineers and scientists have important roles to play not only in creation of new technologies and in rigorous analysis of prospective solutions to energy and emissions challenges, but in communicating with the public and with policy makers.  

On the technology side, new and improved catalysts have a major role to play in the improvement or replacement of existing processes and feedstocks. However, a major challenge has been to design better catalysts from a molecular-level understanding of surface reaction mechanisms and site requirements. This presentation will consider examples of catalyst design utilizing new chemical insights from first principles studies, as well as the introduction of well-known catalytic functions into new environments. Regardless of the starting point, whether DFT calculations of the chemistry of individual sites or the assembly of new catalysts from molecular building blocks, issues of synthesis, stability and the working environment of the catalyst are common to all. The catalyst design strategies illustrated here will, it is hoped, be applicable to the development of new routes to fuels and chemicals from a feedstock base growing beyond fossil resources.

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April 25, 2024 • 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm edt

Student Roundtable: Careers in Climate Philanthropy

Climate change is a growing area of concern for many foundations and philanthropies, which can play an important role because of their ability to deploy capital quickly to...

Event • CGEP Large Conference Room
1255 Amsterdam Ave Floor 1, New York, NY 10027
Student Roundtable: Careers in Climate Philanthropy
February 9, 2024 • 10:00 am - 11:30 pm est

Climate Justice Series: Segregation and Environmental Injustice

https://www.youtube.com/live/aggYsTUpBKM?feature=shared Register Please join the Ambedkar Initiative at the Institute for Comparative Literature & Society, the India Program at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia...

Webinar
Climate Justice Series: Segregation and Environmental Injustice
April 16, 2024 • 7:30 am - 5:00 pm est

Columbia Global Energy Summit 2024

The Columbia Global Energy Summit 2024 is an annual event dedicated to thought-provoking discussions around the critical energy and climate challenges facing the global community. 

Summit Event • Lerner Hall
Columbia University
Columbia Global Energy Summit 2024
January 26, 2024 • 10:00 am - 11:30 am est

Climate Justice Series: Environmental Casteism and Climate Disaster

https://youtu.be/dIcfuaHRteY The humanitarian impact of the climate crisis on vulnerable communities, which have historically contributed the least to climate change, is now recognized in scholarship and policy. The...

Event • Zoom Webinar
Climate Justice Series: Environmental Casteism and Climate Disaster
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Climate of Contempt

Why is the United States struggling to enact policies to reduce carbon emissions? Conventional wisdom holds that the wealthy and powerful are to blame, as the oligarchs and corporations that wield disproportionate sway over politicians prioritize their short-term financial interests over the climate’s long-term health.

Books by David Spence • September 11, 2024
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Climate of Contempt
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