Tonight's Meeting: The Report from RETECH

TEF all-stars Daniel Enking, Greg Hering, and Carolyn Pace traveled to Washington, DC in February as Tufts' delegates to the Renewable Energy Technology Conference and Exhibition (RETECH).


Tonight, each of them will be reporting back to us with some of their insights from the event.

• Greg Hering will be giving a presentation about renewable energy and its influence on national security. He will talk about key policy changes and technological deployments needed to reduce the strategic importance of oil in global fuel mix. He will highlight where America is in this process and how far we have to go.

• Carolyn Pace will share what she learned about municipal and state biofuels programs and the biofuels industry. She will highlight a few leaders in the industry, and what their ideas, presentations, and frustrations entailed.

• Daniel Enking will give us an update on the latest installment of the Solar Revolution, focusing on solar PV. He will also enlighten us about where all of our stimulus tax dollars are going.

Come support your fellow club members, hear some cool stories, get advice on how to network at a major conference, and learn how to get TEF support to attend events like this in the future!

Sam Goodman at TEF

On Wednesday the 24th, TEF joined with Young Entrepreneurs at Tufts (YET) to host serial entrepreneur and Chinese-western business expert Sam Goodman.

Mr. Goodman delivered a fascinating presentation about his experiences as a global entrepreneur, and then introduced us to his newest project, AGreenGator.

This nonprofit Web 2.0 startup is being designed to bring together all of the web's best "green" resources, to help avoid duplication of efforts within the broader environmental community.

Finally, the evening closed with a great Q-and-A session about entrepreneurship, China, and AGreenGator.

Some snapshots from TEF's recent trip to the experimental nuclear reactor at UMASS Lowell!

Better Place & Electric Vehicle Strategies

Shai Agassi's TED talk | link
Better Place official site | link
Better Place Wikipedia article | link
Shai Agassi Wikipedia article | link

Some criticisms on Treehugger | link

Winter 2010 GIM

View more presentations from Tufts Energy Forum.

Tufts Energy Forum General Interest Meeting

Wednesday, January 27

9:00 PM

Eaton 206

TEF is undergoing a very exciting structural change in order to provide more opportunities for our members to get directly involved with the world of energy.

Starting this semester, in addition to attending weekly meetings, TEF members will have the option of signing up for SUBGROUPS. Each subgroup will meet once a week and, as a team, will work towards a specific real-world goal related to energy.

Below are descriptions of the initiating subgroups:

TEF | Advocacy

TEF | Advocacy is for those interested in the community-action side of energy issues. Members will make a difference by planning projects on campus or in neighboring towns, and supporting and advising local leaders in their attempts to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

TEF | Conference Planning Committee

TEF| Conference Planning Committee is responsible for organizing and carrying out the annual Tufts Energy Conference.

TEF | Content

TEF | Content will ensure that TEF meetings and events are educational and exciting by planning each semester’s speakers, films, roundtable discussions, debates, presentations, field trips, and any other events.

TEF | Digital

TEF| Digital will be in charge of producing and then maintaining the TEF website. The team will build on the rough draft of the site already created, and publish a finished product before the end of the semester. Web programmers and designers, copywriters and those with interest or expertise in digital advertising should consider joining this group.

TEF | Energy Business

This group will manage a mock portfolio of energy assets, learn about energy start-ups, and pursue other such interests by organizing opportunities for the club to tour local businesses and meet with industry professionals.

TEF | Media\Outreach

TEF| Media\Outreach will run the marketing component of all of TEF’s activities. Opportunities will include contributing to TEF publications (blog, newsletters), designing ad campaigns and "building the brand," designing the new website, and representing TEF at events.

TEF | Research

TEF | Research group will collaboratively identify a) a topic of interest (e.g. “Energy Microfinance in India”) and b) some tangible outcomes (e.g. a formal analysis for publication, or a policy memo) and design and execute a research project as a team, with the possibility of Tufts-funded travel

TEF | SUSSEN (Sino-US Student Energy Network)

TEF| SUSSEN will link up with students at top Chinese universities to exchange information, make contacts in the Chinese energy sector, and undertake joint research and projects.

We hope to see you at the meeting!