Seminars

Donaldson Company Distinguished Lecture Series
Joint Seminar with Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and Mechanical Engineering

The Great Hydrogen Hoax

by

Vijay Vaitheeswaran
Global Environment and Energy Correspondent
"The Economist"

Thursday, December 9 , 2004
4:00 p.m.
Room 2-470 Phillips-Wangensteen Building
A reception will follow in the Dale Shephard Room of the Campus Club

Abstract:

Through the prism of the current debate over hydrogen energy and fuel cells, Vaitheeswaran will explain why he believes that the world is on the cusp of a new energy revolution. Along the way he will debunk various popular misconceptions and myths, including the quest for "energy independence" and concerns about imminent hydrocarbon scarcity, and will explain the importance of reconciling the genuine aspirations of the world's poorest for modern engergy with the equally genuine concerns in the rich world to tackle climate change.

Bio:

Vijay Vaitheeswaran was born in Madras, India and grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering. He joined The Economist in 1992 as its London-based Latin American correspondent. In 1994 he opened the publication's first bureau in that region (in Mexico City), writing about political, financial, and cultural developments in that part of the world. He remained there as a bureau chief until 1997 when he returned to London. In 1998 he became the publication's energy and global environment correspondent, covering developments in politics, economics, business, and technology related to those topics. He is now based in New York. Vaitheeswaran is an adjunct faculty member at New York University and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His commentaries are featured regularly on National Public Radio's "Marketplace" and he is a frequent guest on the BBC, CNN, PBS and other television networks. He is the author of a new book on the future of energy, Power to the People: How the Coming Energy Revolution Will Transform an Industry, Change Our Lives, and Maybe Even Save the Planet.