This conference will bring together representatives from academia, industry, government, and the media from the USA and France for a conversation about a variety of energy policies and technologies. The central thesis is that while France and the USA both share a similar set of concerns related to the abundance, safety, reliability, and cleanliness of energy, the two countries have taken very different approaches to achieving our respective goals (particularly, for instance, regarding how they have each dealt with nuclear and shale gas). Consequently, each country has different positive and negative results to share. This conference would seek to share best practices for solutions to the energy problem while educating participants about the problems and solutions and establishing a collaborative Transatlantic relationship. To this end, this conference will specifically seek to compare and contrast the energy landscape in the USA and France around four core topics: shale gas production; the grid (including nuclear, smart grid, renewables and energy efficiency); public policy; and media coverage.

Sponsors: French Embassy, EU Delegation, US Department of Education, UT Center for European Studies, France-UT Institute, UT Cockrell School of Engineering, UT College of Liberal Arts

Partners: French Consulate in Houston, TX; CleanTX Foundation in Austin, TX

Expected attendance: 200+ attendees, comprised of professors, students, and members of industry, government, and NGOs; the conference will be open to the public, but will require advance registration.

Dissemination: The conference will be videotaped for later dissemination via the web.

Agenda:

830 am   Conference Opening (Prof. Doug Biow, Director, Center for European Studies, UT Austin)

845 am   Welcome and Opening Remarks (French General Consul)

900 am   Panel I: Shale Gas Production and its Global Impacts

o   Prof. Ernie Moniz, Director of MIT’s Energy Initiative (Moderator)

o   Dr. JP Nicot, UT Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology

o   Rod Nelson, VP of Comm and Innovation & Collaboration, Schlumberger

o   Zin Smati, President & CEO of GDF SUEZ North America

o   Mike Goins, Supply Chain Executive (formerly of Total Petrochemicals USA)

1030 am   Break

1045 am   Panel II: The Power Sector: Nuclear, Smart Grid, Renewables and Efficiency

o   Dr. David Spence, McCombs School of Business, UT Austin (Moderator)

o   Cyril Pinel, Counselor for Nuclear Energy at the Embassy of France, Washington  DC

o   Dr. Finis Southworth, CTO, AREVA, Inc.

o   Prof. James Sweeney, Director of Stanford University’s Precourt Energy Efficiency Center

o   Dr. Franck Carre, Scientific Director of the Nuclear Energy Division, Commissariat a l’energie atomique et aux energies alternatives (CEA), France

o   Jean-Baptiste Siproudhis, VP Communications, Compliance and Risk Management, Electricite  de France

1215 pm   Lunch (included with conference registration)

115 pm   Keynote: Professor Scott Tinker (Creator of the acclaimed movie SWITCH, Director, Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin) with introduction by Dean Fenves, Cockrell School of Engineering, UT Austin

200 pm   Panel III: Energy Policy

o   Dr. Varun Rai, LBJ School of Public Affairs, UT Austin (Moderator)

o   Pierre Gauthier, President and CEO, Alstom US

o   Hon. Mark Strama, Representative, Texas House of Representatives

o   Dr. Paul Lucchese, Advisor to the General Director, New Technologies for Energy, Commissariat a l’energie atomique et aux energies alternatives (CEA), France

o   Dr. Patrice Geoffron, Professor of Economics, University Paris Dauphine

o   Prof. Richard Newell, Director of Duke University’s Energy Initiative and former Director of the Energy Information Administration

330 pm   Break

345 pm   Panel IV: Energy Coverage in the Media

o   Evan Smith, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Tribune (Moderator)

o   Russell Gold, energy writer for the Wall Street Journal

o   Clifford Krauss, energy writer for the New York Times

o   David Sassoon, Founder and publisher, InsideClimate News

o   Karl De Meyer, correspondent at Les Echos

515 pm   Wrap-up Comments (Dr. Michael E. Webber)

520 pm   Closing Remarks (Dean Randy Diehl, College of Liberal Arts, UT Austin)

530 pm   Reception

Confirmed Speakers:

·      Media:

o   Evan Smith, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Tribune

o   Russell Gold, energy writer for the Wall Street Journal

o   Clifford Krauss, energy writer for the New York Times

o   David Sassoon, Founder and publisher, InsideClimate News

o   Karl De Meyer, correspondent at Les Echos

·      Academia:

o   Prof. Ernie Moniz, Director of MIT’s Energy Initiative and former Under Secretary of the Department of Energy

o   Prof. Richard Newell, Director of Duke University’s Energy Initiative and former Director of the Energy Information Administration

o   Prof. James Sweeney, Director of Stanford University’s Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (tentative)

o   Dr. Patrice Geoffron, Professor of Economics, University Paris Dauphine

o   Dr. David Spence, McCombs School of Business, UT Austin

o   Dr. Varun Rai, LBJ School of Public Affairs, UT Austin

o   Dr. JP Nicot, Research Scientist, Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin

o   Dr. Scott Tinker, creator of the acclaimed movie SWITCH, Director, Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin

o   Dean Greg Fenves, Cockrell School of Engineering, UT Austin

o   Dean Randy Diehl, College of Liberal Arts, UT Austin

·      Policy and Government:

o   French General Consul

o   Hon. Mark Strama, Representative, Texas House of Representatives

o   Dr. Franck Carre, Scientific Director of the Nuclear Energy Division, Commissariat a l’energie atomique et aux energies alternatives (CEA), France

o   Dr. Paul Lucchese, Advisor to the General Director, New Technologies for Energy, Commissariat a l’energie atomique et aux energies alternatives (CEA), France

o   Cyril Pinel, Counselor for Nuclear Energy at the Embassy of France, Washington, DC

·      Industry:

o   Pierre Gauthier, President and CEO, Alstom US

o   Rod Nelson, VP of Communications and Innovation & Collaboration, Schlumberger

o   Dr. Finis Southworth, CTO, AREVA, Inc.

o   Zin Smati, President & CEO of GDF SUEZ North America

o   Jean-Baptiste Siproudhis, VP Communications, Compliance and Risk Management, Electricite  de France

o   Mike Goins, Supply Chain Executive (formerly of Total Petrochemicals USA)