Robert Braun, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado School of Mines, is featured on the latest podcast from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Braun sat down with ASME.org editor David Walsh during ASME’s Power and Energy 2017 conference in June to discuss the future of renewable energy under the new administration.
From the podcast:
“We’re at a critical juncture where we really need to double down on the investment in clean energy, not curtail it. I do think that it’s quite important these days that you have a lot of interconnected engineering systems—energy, agriculture, water—more so than ever before. Corporate-level, state-level and municipal-level efforts are important and we're glad to see that they’re continuing. However, a more coordinated effort really is still needed to deal with these kinds of complexities—the 21st century energy challenges, energy, water, food, all of these things are beginning to emerge. I think in the next four years they will continue to be worked on but perhaps in a less coordinated effort than they really deserve.”
Braun also talked about his research at Mines, where he leads the Advanced Energy Systems Group.
“As I tell my students, I think the challenges in the 21st century are largely related to systems engineering and systems integration. A lot of the low-hanging fruit, the easy stuff, has been done. So a lot of innovation will come from systems viewpoints where we look no longer at simply getting a workable design but optimal designs of energy system technology, for example. It has to move into the marketplace already optimized to compete.”
To hear the full podcast, go to: www.asme.org/engineering-topics/media/energy/podcast-renewables-us-energy-policy
CONTACT
Emilie Rusch, Public Information Specialist, Communications and Marketing | 303-273-3361 | erusch@mines.edu
Mark Ramirez, Managing Editor, Communications and Marketing | 303-273-3088 | ramirez@mines.edu
