Energy 101

The MIT Energy Club's Energy 101 series is designed to help you get the most out of what the MIT Energy Club has to offer! The concept is to give you working background knowledge about broad energy subjects, such as wind, solar, or electricity grids, so that you can fully engage in the higher-level Energy Club lectures and discussions. These informal presentations are taught by our peers: students working in the field who just love to share the big picture concepts. We're also now making the presenations available online, and "archiving" the information as Fact Sheets. A relatively new addition to the MIT Energy Club, the Energy 101 series has been a rousing success! 

Do you know more about energy technology than the average MIT student? Would you like to share the "big picture" concepts behind your research? You could present an Energy 101! We're always looking for people willing to educate us on broad energy topics. If you are interested in presenting, contact the Energy101/Education Co-Chairs, Jordan Kwok and Kirsten Paredes.

Natural Gas 101

Paul Murphy and Frank O'Sullivan

April 27, 2010

Natural gas is the second largest source of energy in the United States, second only to petroleum. Recent technological advances in the field have lead to significant increaess in the domestic availability of natural gas that could have major implications for decades to come. This lecture adderesses the supply of natural gas in detail, including an in depth discussion of recent developments, and also reviews the many ways in which we use this high quality energy resource.

Biofuels 101

Addison Stark

April 14, 2010

For centuries, biofuels have been an important source of energy for humans. In all likelyhood they will continue to be for centuries to come, albeit in increasingly advanced forms. This talk describes the many different ways that humans use biofuels, how we may use them in the future, and how technology will allow us to improve the way biofuels are burned in both stationary and mobile engines. Included are considerations of economics, food, and land use as well as a description of some of the current political landscape surrounding biofuels.

Nuclear Power 101

Lara Pierpoint

April 1, 2010

In the United States and abroad, nuclear power is responsible for a large proportion of electricity generation. The central technology - which itself is slowly evolving - is surrounded by a complex political, regulatory, social, and economic environment. Recently, nuclear power in the US has experienced renewed interest and attention through both govenrment programs and private investment. This presentation addresses all of these issues: from fundamental and emerging technology to waste management and the fuel cycle to non-proliferation and current legislation.

Offshore Wind 101

Sungho Lee, Per Einar Ellefsen, Thomas Luypaert

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February 24, 2010

Offshore wind generation is a large energy resource that is currently being utlized around the world and may soon see a surge in the United States. The technologies surrounding offshore wind turbines differ in many significant ways from onshore wind turbines, and research is being done at MIT to advance our ability to capture the best offshore wind resources. This presentation will address the strengths and weakness of offshore wind, different approaches to harnessing the resource, and the associated work that is being done at MIT.

Climate Science 101

Rebecca Walsh Dell

December 03, 2009

Wondering about what all the fuss is about with Global Warming? Don't understand all the science? Wondering how exactly the science is done? This talk is an excellent primer on how climate science is done and what that data suggests. The presentation starts out with an introduction to the energy balance between earth and the space around it and systematically moves towards the explaining how humans are changing the atmosphere and what the possible impacts of those changes could be on a macro scale.  Recommendations for further reading are offered in the conclusion.

Electric Vehicles 101

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Dan Lauber

November 17, 2009

With recent concerns over climate change, high gas prices, and energy security, Electric Vehicles (including hybrids and plug in hybrids) have seen a huge increase in popularity - at least in the theoretical sense. This presentation gives a great introduction and background to the technical, economic, political, and social issues surrounding EVs and why they have advantages over traditional combustion engine automobiles.

Cap and Trade 101

Jen Morris

October 13, 2009

Cap and trade is a method of limiting harmful emissions into the atmosphere. It has been used for emissions like SOx in the US in the past and there are currently Cap and Trade programs for CO2 in place around the world and in parts of the US. It is currently one of the main strategies being proposed in Washington as a way for the United States as a whole to cut down on potentially harmful CO2 emissions. This presentation covers the economic concepts that underlie Cap and Trade systems and discusses the current proposals in congress.

Carbon Capture and Sequestration 101

Gary Shu, Michael Hamilton

September 24, 2009

Many people belive that coal energy is too cheap not to use and too harmful to our environment to keep using. One possible strategy that could allow us to keep using coal but reduce or eliminate the effects of its emissions is called Carbon Capture and Sequestration. This presentation motivates our interest in CCS technologies and goes on to explain how they work, when they may be used, and what technical hurdles remain before we can deploy such technology on a large scale.

Electricity Grid 101

Kevin Brokish

November 03, 2008

An intuitive explanation of electrical power grids for people who aren't electrical engineers. Topics will include an introduction to AC and DC transmission, three phase power, and active/reactive power flow. Find out what power grid issues arise when distributed power generation is connected, and find out why 'microgrid' is such a hot buzzword these days. Note: this will not be a lecture on electricity regulations or electricity markets.

Solar Energy 101

Peter Bermel, Steve Hudelson

October 17, 2008

This seminar will present a broad overview of solar energy, designed to give you the background knowledge necessary to understand and engage in the solar energy world. The nature of the solar resource, and approaches to harvesting it, such as solar thermal and solar photovoltaics, will be discussed. Photovoltaics in particular will be examined in depth, with information about both traditional and new solar cell designs. We will conclude by discussing factors impacting the solar market and its potential for growth.

Upcoming Energy 101 Events

(Click here to view the Energy 101 archives instead.)

  • Nuclear Fusion

    12:00-01:00PM Monday, August 09, 2010
    Leader: Andrea Schmidt
    Location: 2-136