You are invited to the next
American Society of Civil Engineers
North Carolina Section
Eastern Branch
Dinner Meeting
Deadline to RSVP has been EXTENDED to Wednesday, August 20th, 2014, at noon.
Speaker: Dr. Vikram Rao, Executive Director, Research Triangle Energy Consortium
Date: Thursday, August 21, 2014
Topic: Sustainable Energy for North Carolina
Time: Networking: 5:30 PM - 6:30PM, Program: 6:30 PM - 8:00PM
Summary: Two new sources of energy in North Carolina are shale gas and liquid fuels from woody biomass. Sustainable development of shale gas will be facilitated by rules currently being formulated by the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission. We will discuss in particular the environmental risks and the measures to minimize these. The controversial chemicals disclosure issue will also be examined.
North Carolina is one of the largest producers of woody biomass. Much of this is a byproduct of logging. Catalytic pyrolysis holds promise for the conversion of this material to liquid fuels. Recent advances will be discussed and in particular the one ton per day pilot plant at RTI International.
Image via News and Observer
Vikram Rao is Executive Director, Research Triangle Energy Consortium, www.rtec-rtp.org, a non-profit in energy founded by Duke University, North Carolina State University, RTI International and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Its mission is to illuminate national energy priorities, and those of the world by extension, and to catalyze research to address these priorities.
Dr. Rao advises the non-profit research institute RTI International, venture capitalist Energy Ventures AS, and firms BioLargo Inc., Global Energy Talent Ltd. and Integro Earth Fuels Inc. and serves on the Science Council of Royal Dutch Shell plc. He retired as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Halliburton Company in 2008 and followed his wife to Chapel Hill, NC, where she is on the UNC faculty. Later that year he took his current position. He also serves on the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission and chairs the Water and Waste Management Committee.
Dr. Rao’s book, Shale Gas: The Promise and the Peril was released in 2012 by RTI Press and can be found at www.rti.org/shalegasbook. It is written for general audiences and is intended to inform on the heated debate on fracturing for shale gas. The Second Edition is slated for release in August, 2014.
Dr. Rao holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in Chennai, India, along with a master’s degree and a doctorate in engineering from Stanford University. He is the author of more than 50 publications and has been awarded 40 US patents and foreign analogs.
Location: We will hold August's dinner meeting at 1705 Prime at 1705 East Millbrook Road in Raleigh. You can contact 1705 Prime at 919-850-2340 if you need assistance locating their establishment.
Costs: The dinner rates are $35 for ASCE Members, $45 for Non-ASCE Members, and $20 for ASCE Life Members, Students, and Unemployed ASCE Members. If you are paying at the door, please bring cash or a check made out to "ASCE NC Eastern Branch". The cost includes 1 drink ticket.
You can register and pay for the event online right now using your credit card. There are no additional fees, and no accounts or magic passwords needed either. You will be able to specify your meal preference during registration. Upon arrival at the dinner, just check-in at the registration table using your name.
We understand your schedule may change and you might not be able to make it to the event. Cancellations with refunds can be honored up until 48 hours before the event starts. If you are neither able to attend nor cancel in time, you may send a replacement. To help Professional Engineers in attendance acquire 15 Professional Development Hour (PDH) units per license renewal period in accordance with 21 NCAC 56.1703, we offer one PDH certificate after the presentation.
Our online system handles all registrations and payments. Even if you don't want to pay online, you still use the online system to register. The online system will also allow you to specify your meal preference (Omnivorian or Vegetarian). Upon arrival at the dinner, just check-in and pay at the registration table using your name.
This meeting is sponsored by Falcon Engineering
