DISTINGUISHED LECTURE - Preparing the Engineering Workforce to Accelerate the Global Energy Transition
Special
Energy Conversion, Conservation and Nuclear Engineering Division (ECCNE)
Wed. June 25, 2025 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
Viger, Westin Montreal
There are currently 5 registrants interested in attending
For those interested in Academia-Industry Connections, Advocacy and Policy, and Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
Description
Free ticketed event
Many thousands of colleges and universities worldwide have committed to becoming carbon-neutral in their own operations in the next decade or two. Despite these commitments, most institutions are struggling to implement them at the scale and speed needed to meet these challenging targets. There are, however, some examples of colleges successfully planning and achieving breakthrough economic, energy and climate performance in less than a decade. The common factors that enabled this rapid decarbonization to not only be planned but also implemented will be explored, along with how these experiences can inform and accelerate the energy transition of similar institutions and the wider community.
Similarly, there are hundreds of communities in the USA and beyond that have committed to becoming carbon neutral and climate resilient by 2050 or earlier, along with capturing substantial economic and social benefits. All are struggling to implement the energy transition measures at the necessary scale and speed to meet their own goals. A large part of this challenge can be attributed to the needs for new skills across
a wide range of roles within these communities.
Colleges and universities are under growing pressure to respond to the rapidly changing demands for more and new skills needed to reduce the world’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions to zero in less than 30 years. They have a key role in the reskilling of the workforce to support the global transition to carbon-free energy systems.
The lecture will explore how colleges and universities could adapt their educational offering to develop the transformed skills and resources needed to accelerate community energy transitions, including using successfully decarbonized campuses as “living classrooms” and continuously drawing on global experiences and resources.
Speakers
Peter John Garforth
Peter Garforth is Principal of a specialist consultancy based in Toledo, Ohio, and Brussels, Belgium. He is also a founding board member of an affiliate consultancy in Guelph, Ontario. He advises major companies, cities, communities, colleges, property developers and policymakers on developing competitive approaches that reduce the economic and environmental impact of energy use. His specialty has been in profitable business development implementing energy productivity. He effectively strives to ensure that any recommended investment approach has a sound business basis and reflects the larger movements in the rapidly transitioning energy market. Peter is well-connected in the energy productivity business and regulatory community around the world.
Peter has long been interested in energy productivity and sustainability and has a considerable track record establishing successful businesses and programs in the United States, Canada, Europe, Indonesia, India, Brazil, China, Japan and elsewhere. He has held senior management roles around the world at Honeywell, Landis & Gyr (now Siemens) and was Vice-President of Strategy for Owens Corning, the largest U.S. manufacturer of insulation and other materials.
Because of his reputation in the energy community, Peter is often asked to provide quotes and interviews as a subject matter expert on the topic. He is also a published author and has contributed monthly columns to Plant Services magazine as the “Energy Expert”. Peter is a long-standing member and contributor to American Energy Engineers (AEE) where he was inducted as a “Legend in Energy” in 2005 and recently as an “AEE Fellow”. Peter was invited as a Guest Lecturer at IUPUI where, with the School of Graduate Studies, he co-designed and led the course "Economic & Business Aspects of Energy - A Global View".