New climate and energy institute launch – Oct. 30

I am pleased to share that the climate and energy institute that President Alivisatos announced last year will officially launch this fall. 

The institute will be the University’s flagship effort to address the urgent priority of confronting climate change while balancing society’s need for growth. It will bring together the University’s unique strengths and unite students and scholars across disciplines to consider and confront the climate challenge from every angle. 

On behalf of the new institute, I invite you to attend the institute’s launch event, Climate Frontiers: Energy and Climate at UChicago, on Wednesday, October 30, at the David Rubenstein Forum. This day-long program of special events will demonstrate the scale and breadth of the University’s activities on energy and climate change and will culminate in the official launch of the institute. 

Climate Frontiers will feature world-leading faculty and senior leaders from industry and government, including President Paul Alivisatos, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker, White House Senior Adviser for International Climate Policy John Podesta, former U.S. Senator and Institute of Politics Director Heidi Heitkamp, and former Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar. Professors Michael Greenstone, David Keith, and Shirley Meng will join these senior officials in a series of discussions focused on core research areas central to the new institute where UChicago is uniquely positioned to lead. 

The event will also include a climate showcase and student poster session to highlight the field-defining research and initiatives already underway at the University. A climate and energy career fair will bring leading employers from a wide array of sectors to campus, allowing students to better understand diverse climate and energy career paths. For more information and to register, visit climatefrontiers.event.uchicago.edu.

I look forward to an exciting new chapter of innovation, collaborative research, and education on climate and energy at the University, and hope that you will take part in this milestone event.