Energy Conference & Energy Future

In This Article:- Conference on Renewable Energies and what legistlators thing about science

Solar Power - we know the sun provides more energy every second than we need to power this planet with electricity if we'd installed solar panels. But even though much solar has and is being installed the wide spread adoption is still somewhat slow. Could added storage help? The idea is simple: peak solar production doe not coincide with peak electricity demand. Thus, when cost of electricity is highest you get the most $ for your solar energy. Thus the solution - store it for some few hours and release it during peak times.

The E2 conference next month in the Netherlands looks into these topics, and I shall contribute with a talk during thisconference. Here's a link to the topics discussed at that meeting.

Does Congress get a passing grade on Science?

 
The question is, how does the US congress views scientific topics like renewable energy and climate change? Scientific American recently asked 32 congressmen and women to respond to 8 selected science questions. The answeres are interesting and encouraging at once. Nine out of the 17 respondance acknowledged climate change which is uplifting. Other science related topics were brought up by the congressmen on the security of the internet, aka cybersecurity. This is a field that need much attention as communication and transaction pathways are virtually to 100% conducted via the web.

Continuing on this notion, and timely to the upcoming US elections, here is the link the respondance of "Top American Science Questions" from President Obama and Sen. Romney. Without going into too much detail the difference are quite obvious. The current administration did a tremendous effort in supporting science and engineering especially in the energy, water, and .... So how about economy? Well, Mitt Romneys biggest critique on the current administration is their apparent failure to grow the economy. The problem of many political leaders is that they sadly have a path for 4 years max, i.e. when elections are due. Obama however did plant seeds for a much bigger and larger project. He indeed presented a vision of a clean and US energy independent future. This forward thinking and long-term planning and preparing of the US polulation for the challenges of the 21st century is what makes true leaders stand out. And to the Mitt's economy point; 

• #1 when the Obama administration tool over the economy was down with 800,000 jobs lost every month from mis-leadership during the Bush years
• #2 the world saw the largest economical crises since the balck friday in 1929
• #3 the economy is already on a good way to recover
• #4 the long-term payoffs from stimmulation packets in Science, Engineering, clean energy, water, education WILL pay off in the mid-to long term - that's economics 101 

 In conclusion, the where we look sustainable energy sources like solar cells as discussed at the OSA E2 conference in Nov 2012, in the US congress, or at the economical growth plan of the Obama administration one thing is clear - the success and competitiveness of a country is and will be dominated by those who bet on scientific leadership.

In This Article:

- Greene cards for foreign graduates?! 

Stay or not to stay, that is here the question. The decision whether foreign students that earn highest degrees from US universities should use their degree to work in the states is a valid one. However, even for the highly needed STEM fields, that is science technology, engineering, and math, the path to a straight forward work place and permanent residency is currently quite cumbersome, time consuming and expensive; 12+ months waiting time, extensive application forms, in addition to attorney fees in the 5+ thousands are the norm. Well, a partisan bill was recently submitted to the congress by a Texan Congressmen, Mr. Lamar Smith (surprisingly from the Republican party).

55,000 Green cards for foreign Students

The idea: instead of offering a lottery to win 55,000 green cards every year, the proposal calls to give these cards to masters and PhD level foreign graduates. Would this be a good idea? Well, truth is, that STEM majors are rare all over the globe, not just the US. STEM majors are typically those who bring in high tax revenues since they have a decent salary. STEM majors are also those who are able to develop intellectual property (patents), and start new companies, especially in the IT sector. All in all, STEM majors are a strong engine for US’s technology infrastructure. Thus, it comes to no surprise that even republicans want to open doors for these highly talented graduates. We therefore find a strong argument to go ahead with the bill.

Coming back to the question whether this is a good idea, one can also argue against the bill, by highlighting diversity as one of the strengths of the states. In fact the green card lottery was instigated by a motivation to increase diversity. However, in a world with more and more challenges, faster innovation cycles, and a constant competition for experts the question is, whether we want to educate those smart men and women in these innovation critical majors, and then send them home afterwards. In this regard, Mr. Smith's proposal seems quite appealing and forward thinking.