The Energy Leaders Consortium (ELC) gathered at University of Toronto, St. George for a meeting in late October with U of T’s Climate Positive Energy initiative and leading energy researchers.
This meeting was a continuation of a previous workshop held with Climate Positive Energy earlier this year, in which ELC members discussed their top energy concerns and what they foresaw as potential energy challenges over the next 5-10 years. Some of the potential challenges included future energy grid capacity and the role of post-secondary institutes in developing the skills needed to address the complex issues of tomorrow. Through identifying these concerns, Climate Positive Energy brought together relevant researchers to share their latest findings and opportunities for collaboration with industry.
The event started with a welcome from the University’s Sustainability Office, which provided an overview of their GHG reduction strategy and their ambitious plans for transitioning the St. George Campus to a climate-positive campus by 2050. As one of the largest energy users in Toronto, this project will be a huge source of emissions reductions in the region. Learn more about the climate-positive strategy here.
Presenters
Several presentations by leading U of T researchers on the top energy questions took place including:
- Ali Hooshyar, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor Hooshyar’s research interests include the protection and control of renewable energy systems and smart grids He is an Editor of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical Engineers) Transactions on Smart Grid and the IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery Professor Hooshyar will be discussing the transition of the grid, including microgrids, and the integration of renewables.
- Emily Moore, Professor, Troost Institute for Leadership Education
Professor Moore was appointed Director of the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in October 2018 after more than twenty years in industry Her teaching and research interests are in developing engineers to lead in a rapidly changing world Professor Moore will discuss the role of the Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies in Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP) in transforming engineering education at U of T.
- Suengjae Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering
Dr Lee’s group focuses on developing reliable and scalable artificial intelligence solutions for building energy systems to improve building energy performance, indoor environmental quality, and grid reliability and resilience Dr Lee will be speaking to building energy management, including emerging issues and opportunities, with reference to research projects that address this topic.
- Jonathan Edwards, PHD, CERT Systems Inc
At CERT Systems Inc, Jonathan manages a team of scientists developing electrodes and electrolyzers for the conversion of CO 2 During his presentation, Jonathan will introduce carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) and its benefits and implications towards achieving net zero.
If you would like to learn more about Partners in Project Green or the Energy Leaders Consortium, please contact Matt Brunette, matt.brunette@trca.ca