PASADENA, Calif.—The latest in clean alternative-energy resources and the promise for transportation will be the focus of the California Clean Innovation 2007 (CACI) conference to be held Friday, May 11, on the campus of the California Institute of Technology. The conference is open to the public by registration.
According to one of the conference's main organizers, Siddharth Dasgupta, who is associate director of Caltech's NSF Center for Science & Engineering of Materials (CSEM), the all-day event has been designed to provide an inside look at the latest research, to address the challenges ahead, to provide information for entrepreneurs searching for new opportunities in alternative clean energy, and to provide networking opportunities for private- and public-sector professionals.
Conference session topics will include "Clean Power: Solar and Wind," "Clean Transportation: Fuels, Engine, and Storage," "Global Clean Tech Perspectives," and "Private and Public Market Finance." A fast-pitch business-case competition will also be held for student-friendly companies.
Keynote speakers will be Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, and Nate Lewis, the Argyros Professor and professor of chemistry at Caltech whose research is heavily involved in alternative-energy technologies.
Activities begin at 8:30 a.m. with opening comments from Caltech president Jean-Lou Chameau, whose own research interests have included environmental engineering. Lewis's keynote address, "Our Energy Reality," will follow at 8:40 a.m.
The first session, on "Popular Clean Power" will begin at 9:15 a.m., moderated by Art Ellis, vice chancellor for research at UC San Diego. Presentations will be given on solar photovoltaic cells by Harry Atwater, an applied physicist and director of CSEM at Caltech; thin film solar technologies by Billy Stanbery, CEO of Heliovolt; building integrated wind turbine development by Paul Glenney, director of Energy Initiatives at AeroVironment; and large-scale wind innovation by Leif Anderson of Suzlon Energy.
The second-session panel, on transportation fuels, will be moderated by Jose-Luis Contreras of Navigant Consulting. Panelists will be Kevin Gray, director of Alternative Fuels at Diversa on biofuels, Richard Hamilton, CEO of CERES on biofuels, and Vasilios Manousiouthakis, director of UCLA's Hydroegen Energy Research Consortium.
The third-session panel, on fuel cells and hydrogen, will be moderated by Terry Tamminen, an adviser to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Panelists will include Brent Fultz of Caltech on hydrogen storage, Justin Ward of Toyota Hybrid Vehicle Technologies, Mike Gorman, director of transportation products at United Technologies, and Sossina Haile of Caltech on solid acid fuel cells.
In parallel with this session there will be the first round of fast pitch business case competition. Ten teams will make three-minute fast pitches to a panel, which will select three finalists for the final round later in the afternoon.
The afternoon sessions begin with the fourth panel discussion on private and public investment, and will be moderated by Scott McGaraghan, director of business development at EnerNoc. Panelists will be John Rockwell, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson Element, Jim McDermott, managing director of U.S. Renewables, and Mark Huang, senior vice president at GE Energy Financial Services.
The parallel fifth session is on the Global Clean Energy Landscape, moderated by Jim Davis, president of Chevron Energy Solutions. Woody Clark, senior fellow of the Milken Institute will talk about China, Jeremy Martin, energy director of UCSD's Insitute of Americas will talk about South America, and Suvi Sharma, CEO of Solaria will talk about India.
These will be followed by the fast-pitch competition finals leading to the closing keynote by Vinod Khosla and comments by Dean Judy Olian of UCLA's Anderson School of Management. There will be a social mixer at the end from 5 to 7 p.m. for attendees to network with the panelists, keynotes, and each other.
The fee for registration is $150 for the general public, with an "early-bird" registration of $100 until April 15. The registration for students is $35. Online registration and additional information is available at www.cleaninnovation.caltech.edu.
