FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2005
LIVERMORE, Calif. — In the days of $2.50-per-gallon gas, tightening environmental regulations, debate over drilling in nature reserves, and lethal instability in oil-rich regions, is today’s internal combustion engine still relevant? If the hydrogen economy is still decades from becoming a reality, what transition approaches are researchers looking at, as well as interim ways to improve fuel efficiency and enhance clean technologies? Will diesel engines become a viable option in the U.S.?
These are some questions that will be addressed as Sandia National Laboratories commemorates its Combustion Research Facility’s 25-year anniversary with a technical symposium on Nov. 17 titled, “Fueling America’s Engine: Science and Technology for Clean Efficient Use of Fuels.” Speakers will include Paul Roberts, author of The End of Oil; Tom Hunter, president and director of Sandia National Laboratories; Ray Orbach, head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science (via video-link), and others.
A spirited panel discussion titled “From Here to the Hydrogen Economy: Building an Energy Bridge to the Future” will include a range of speakers including:
Martha Krebs, Deputy Director, Public Interest Energy Research, California Energy Commission
Greg McRae, Bayer Professor of Chemical Engineering, MIT
Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.
Sandia media contact: Mike Janes, mejanes@sandia.gov, (925) 294-2447