August 29, 2006

Indiana governor, Ford VP join national leaders at energy summit

Gov. Mitch Daniels' remarks opened the Richard G. Lugar-Purdue Summit on Energy Security on Aug. 29. Ford Vice President Sue Cischke spoke as part of a panel discussion on "Implementing Strategies to Reduce Foreign Oil Dependence."

Other panelists were: Carol Battershell, vice president for alternative energy for BP Inc., and Amy Myers Jaffe, Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy of Rice University. Brian Lamb, president and CEO of C-SPAN, served as the panel moderator.

Lugar and Purdue President Martin C. Jischke had major speaking roles at the summit, and U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, was the luncheon speaker.

"The interest from government, industry and academic leaders in the energy summit is a clear indication that America is ready to develop a strategic plan to move toward alternative energies," said Lugar, R-Ind., who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "This summit will help lay the groundwork for future public and private polices and address the national security issues with regard to energy dependence on foreign oil."

Jischke, who was recently named to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, said energy is a principal area of research at Purdue.

"Researchers at Purdue are leaders in the development of alternative fuels," Jischke said. "There is an interdisciplinary approach at Purdue to work in the field of energy research, including biofuels and clean-coal technology, as well as other alternative energy sources, including nuclear, hydrogen, wind and solar. Energy policy also is a strong area of study at Purdue."

Mitch Daniels

Daniels was elected Indiana's governor in 2004 and has since spearheaded the state's growth in bioenergy — opening 14 new ethanol and biodiesel plants in one year. In March, Daniels was one of two governors asked to speak at the second National Agriculture/Forestry Renewable Energy Summit. He was asked because of Indiana's leadership with biofuels and for groundbreaking programs such as BioTown, USA, an effort to create a community where all energy needs are met through the use of biorenewable resources.

Before becoming governor, Daniels was president of Eli Lilly and Co.'s North American Operations and CEO of the Hudson Institute, a public-policy think-tank now based in Washington, D.C. He has a law degree from Georgetown University and completed his bachelor's degree at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Susan M. Cischke

Cischke serves as Ford's top environmental and safety officer. At Ford, she helps shape corporate policy and works with global regulators on issues ranging from carbon dioxide emissions to pedestrian safety. She has been named one of the Automotive News 100 Leading Women and named one of Crain's Detroit Business Most Influential Women. She also serves on the board of the Chicago Climate Exchange and the Traffic Improvement Association in Oakland County, Michigan. She is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Engineering Society of Detroit and the Women's Economic Club.

She earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., and holds master's degrees in mechanical engineering and management from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Battershell serves as vice president in BP's new alternative energy division, which includes businesses such as solar, wind, hydrogen power and clean natural gas. Previously as director of alternative fuels, Battershell was responsible for the company's hydrogen and fuel cells division. In her 20 years in the oil and gas industry, she also has been involved in retail fuels marketing, strategy and financial roles in business-to-business fuels marketing, as well as corporate direction in environmental policy. She earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Purdue where she specialized in environmental engineering and a master's degree from Case Western Reserve University.

The energy summit program chair was Wallace Tyner, Purdue professor of agricultural economics. Tyner does research in energy economics, and his past work has encompassed oil, natural gas, coal, oil shale, biomass, ethanol from agricultural sources and solar energy. Tyner also has worked on agricultural trade and policy issues with developing countries in the Middle East and North and West Africa. He has extensive overseas experience in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, India, and Morocco.

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu

Source: Wallace Tyner, (765) 494-0199, wtyner@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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