Dr. Dana Christensen and Dr. Chuck Kutscher to deliver opening and closing keynote addresses at the 2013 CEER

The Spring 2013 semester is upon us, and with that comes the cornerstone event that the CSM Graduate Student Association (GSA) has become known for, The Conference on Earth & Energy Research (CEER) 2013. The event will take place at the Green Center on February 21-22, 2013, showcasing the best and brightest earth- and energy-related research from across the Mines campus, as well as other Colorado graduate institutions. Through a partnership forged by VP of Research, Dr. John Poate, NREL will be participating in CEER 2013 through presenters, judges, as well as the opening keynote speaker. CEER 2013 is very proud to announce that the opening and closing keynote speakers for CEER 2013 will be Dr. Dana Christensen and Dr. Chuck Kutscher, respectively.

Dr. Christensen is the Deputy Lab Director of Science & Technology at the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s NREL, and is the VP for the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. Spending more than 10 years in DoE labs, such as Oak Ridge Nat’l Labs, Los Alamos Nat’l Labs, and Pacific Northwest Nat’l Labs, Christensen is one of the world’s leading experts on energy technology, energy materials and chemistry, and energy systems. As NREL’s Deputy Director for Science and Technology he is responsible for the science strategy, focused on positioning the Laboratory for delivering on high impact solutions to the nation’s energy challenges and goals with particular focus on renewable energy development and the integration of energy efficiency for buildings, industrial, and transportation sectors into the energy grid. Christensen has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from New Mexico State University, Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering and Civil/Environmental Engineering from New Mexico State University, and an Executive MBA from the University of New Mexico.

Dr. Kutscher is a Founding Fellow for the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, a joint-venture between CU-Boulder and NREL, where he leads research on parabolic trough solar collectors and low-cost heliostats. Dr. Kutscher is the past chair and fellow for the American Solar Energy Society, and led the production of “Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.,” which details how energy efficiency and six renewable technologies can greatly reduce U.S. carbon emission by 2030. Kutscher also served as the Chair of the 2012 World Renewable Energy Forum held in Denver that attracted over 2,000 participants from over 60 nations. He has a B.S. in physics from the State University of New York at Albany, an M.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois, and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado.