2007 Nobel Conference

Harnessing and using energy has played a key role in both the development and the decline of civilizations since the dawn of human existence. The rapid technological advances and prosperity enjoyed in the 20th century were driven by the use of fossil fuels—namely, coal and oil. In the 21st century, however, energy demand and prices are soaring, conflicts threaten political stability in the most oil-rich region of the world, and we are realizing the effects of a rapidly warming planet. In the United States, oil production has been declining since the early 1970s, and dependence on foreign oil continues to increase amid the threat of terrorism arising from the oil-rich Middle East. What will be the energy sources of the future? Several new and exciting technologies are on the horizon, including hydrogen, solar and wind power, biofuels, and advanced nuclear power.

The 2007 Nobel Conference at Gustavus Adolphus College will consider the problems of global warming and declining oil reserves, drawing upon world-renowned energy and resource experts to put our current energy dilemma into perspective and examine new and advancing technologies. To date, the following individuals have accepted the Nobel Conference Committee's invitation to speak at the conference:

Presenters & Webcasts

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Steven Chu

Nobel Laureate in Physics 1997, Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California

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Kenneth S. Deffeyes

Professor of Geosciences Emeritus, Princeton University

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James E. Hansen

Director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University Earth Institute

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Paul L. Joskow

Director, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Lee Rybeck Lynd

Professor, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College

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Joan M. Ogden

Professor of Environmental Science and Policy and co-director of the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Program, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis

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Will Steger

Polar explorer, conservationist, educator, writer, and photographer