What IF the world ran on 100 percent renewable energy?

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean island will be struggling to rebuild for years.

But what does rebuilding look like and how can renewable energy be a part of those efforts?

Jorge Haddock
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Jorge Haddock, president of the University of Puerto Rico, will address this question in his lecture “What IF the world ran on 100 percent renewable energy?” Haddock, a Purdue graduate and business leadership authority, is in the unique position of leading one of the island’s cornerstone socioeconomic institutions during post-hurricane recovery. He will discuss the global future of renewable energy and how Puerto Rico is approaching the idea. Topics will include the risks and rewards of switching to 100 percent renewable energy in an environmentally turbulent area, Puerto Rico’s short- and long-term plans for renewable energy use, and the island’s ongoing renewable energy research and its participation in international sustainability initiatives.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is 6 p.m. Feb. 6 in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. It will be followed by a panel discussion with Purdue faculty members. The panel will be led by John Sutherland, the Fehsenfeld Family Head of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, with Maureen McCann, professor of biological sciences and director of the Energy Center in Discovery Park; Luciano Castillo, the Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy and Power Systems in Mechanical Engineering; and Rakesh Agrawal, the Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering.

The event is a part of Purdue’s Ideas Festival, the centerpiece of Purdue’s Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign, which is a series of events that connect world-renowned speakers and Purdue expertise in a conversation on the most critical problems facing the world. One of the Ideas Festival’s themes is sustainable economy and planet.

More information about Haddock is available online. This event is in partnership with the College of Engineering. 

Writer: Kelsey Schnieders Lefever, kschnied@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service contact: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Stephanie McKinley, college events specialist, College of Engineering, samckinl@purdue.edu