Energy Efficiency - Facing the Facts & Learning to Cooperate:
There is common acknowledgement of the perceived urge to solve the world's energy problem. There are extensive examples of R&D projects, industrial innovations, tools, trials and tribulations set out to challenge and develop (hybrid) forms of solutions. But where do the paradigm shifts emerge spontaneously and where do they need a top-down incentive? The Energy Efficiency project is a joint project by Brussels Capital Region, CROSSTALKS, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Flanders District of Creativity with VITO, UGENT, IBBT as structural partners and 3E and BURO II as supporting partners. CROSSTALKS and the Energy Efficiency project are official campaign associates of the European Union - Sustainable Energy Week. The cross-disciplinary procedure allows investors, corporate business, energy providers and distributors, policymakers, researchers and individual citizens to interact and exchange ideas in order to come to common and collaborative objectives. Input comes from evolutionary biology, physics, engineering and outer space programs to economy, design & architecture,...
LIMITS TO GROWTH. Can enough become the new more? Event chairs: Marleen Wynants, Operational Director CROSSTALKS and Nico Verplancke, Program Manager, IBBT (30 min talks + 15 min discussion) 09.15 Coffee and registration -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #05 WORKSHOP Attitude, Design & Action - Interplay between individual behavior, polical will and energy efficent incentives. ‘Attitude, Design & Action’ was the fifth in a series of workshops within the Energy Efficiency project that started in 2008. On September 11, we wanted to explore the interdependencies between individual behavior, political will, effective incentives, technology expertise & pilot-projects, available tools & transparent interfaces. Please click on a name to consult these speakers' bios & slides Event chairs: Alok Nandi (Founder of Architempo and Pecha Kucha Night Brussels) and Gerrit-Jan Schaeffer (Director of Innovation & Renovation at VITO)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #04 THE ATOMIUM SESSIONS - Navigating the Complex Nature of Energy Efficiency Please click on a name to consult these speakers' bios & slides Event chairs: Alok Nandi (Founder of Architempo and Pecha Kucha Night Brussels) and Gerrit-Jan Schaeffer (Director of Innovation & Renovation at VITO) PART I Exploring the interdependencies, opportunities and trade-offs 09:15 Intro by Guy Vanhengel, Brussels Capital Region Minister for External Affairs PART II Cases and methods 14:00 Case I: Past the tipping point: Hans Nilsson, Chairman of the International Energy Agency DSM-Programme With the support of the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign Followed by Social Evening Event "Pecha Kucha Night Brussels"** at 20:00 in The Claridge (optional). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #03 SCIENCE & INDUSTRY LUNCH - WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2009 Please click on a name to consult these speakers' bios & slides 08:30 - 09:00 Registration & Coffee with the support of EUSEW 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #02 SCIENCE & INDUSTRY LUNCH - FRIDAY 5 DECEMBER 2008 How are we preparing for 75% of the world population to live in cities by 2050? How can instutions create more space for innovation and change the structures, culture and practices to implement long term transition strategies? Which steps need to be taken to make the shift from eco-efficiency towards eco-effectiveness? What can we learn from industries in transition? James Scott Brew from the famous Rocky Mountain Institute, Jan Rotmans from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Egbert Lox of Umicore and automotive expert Joeri Van Mierlo of VUB shared their ideas and opinions in this thought-provoking science & industry lunch on the 5th of Dec.... Date & timing: 9 AM until 2.00 PM, lunch included ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #01 SCIENCE & INDUSTRY LUNCH - WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2008 This first kick-off workshop aimed at setting the scene by providing a platform for an interdisciplinary assembly of speakers to explore several "languages" and domains that make use of the "Energy Efficieny" concept and the fascinating translations between them. Date & timing: 9 AM until 2.30 PM, lunch included Please click on a name to consult these speakers' bios & slides • 09:00 Intro and setting the scene: Gerrit-Jan Schaeffer (VITO, Belgium) bios & slidesNovember 27, 2009: LIMITS TO GROWTH. Can enough become the new more? Marleen Wynants is an independent publicist with a master in Germanic Languages and Audio-visual Communication Media from KULeuven. She started working as music producer and content researcher for the official Belgian Radio and Television in its pre-commercial stage. Since 1984 she wrote articles and columns for the major media groups in Belgium, focusing on ICT, art and science. At present she is the director of CROSSTALKS, the university and industry network of Vrije Universiteit Brussel - http://crosstalks.vub.ac.be . Together with Jan Cornelis she co-edited the CROSSTALKS books 'How open is the Future?' (2005) and 'Brave New Interfaces' (2007). She is editor of the third CROSSTALKS book 'In Sickness and in Health' (2009). Nico Verplancke graduated in 1997 with a Masters in Applied Economics from the University of Leuven, Belgium. However, he decided to pursue a career in IT and worked with several IT companies such as Guidance Benelux, Sydney Tristar and the Real Software group. Since 2004, he joined the Interdisciplinary institute for BroadBand Technology (IBBT) as a program manager. Since then, he has been working with research groups, companies, government, and cultural organizations, to create and successfully complete research projects in the field of eGovernment and New Media. Paul Gerbrands is historicus. Hij is in 1947 geboren in Den Haag uit Delftse ouders. Zijn vader was boekbinder. Met het gymnasiumdiploma op zak vertrok hij naar Leiden om er geschiedenis te studeren. Na zijn doctoraal stond hij ruim 38 jaar voor de klas als geschiedenisleraar waarvan ruim dertig jaar in Noord-Brabant. Hij was sinds zijn studententijd lid van de PvdA en bekleedde er enkele functies. Later werd hij lid van D'66. In 1994 richtte hij de stichting 'de club van tien miljoen' op om het onderwerp overbevolking nationaal en internationaal voor het voetlicht te brengen. Er verschenen bij uitgeverij Damon in Budel vier boeken van zijn naam over dit onderwerp. Hij schrijft regelmatig stukjes over allerlei maatschappelijke onderwerpen en is geen onbekende op radio en televisie. Dr. Saul M. Lemkowitz is Associate Professor of Chemical Risk Management and Sustainability at the Faculty of Applied Sciences of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Concerning 'Chemical Risk Management', Dr. Lemkowitz has been teaching and researching in chemical safety, health, and environmental questions ('SHE' = Safety, Health, Environment) for decades. Examples are fire and explosion risks of chemical products and processes; idem toxic risks to humans (workers, public), idem environmental risks. By extending the temporal, spatial, and complexity scale, 'SHE' logically extends to 'sustainability'. Within 'sustainability', Dr. Lemkowitz actively promotes the approach of 'Industrial Ecology', whose basic goal is to modify industrial civilization such that society functions like an ecological system: no 'wastes', total recycle. Within the approach of Industrial Ecology fits the 'cradle-to-cradle' (C2C) concept. But not vice versa. Because Industrial Ecology is a more comprehensive approach than C2C. Industrial Ecology embraces C2C, at the same time also integrating it into the more holistic approach of Industrial Ecology. Bart Stevens has more then 10 years experience in the IT industry. He has lived and worked in South and North America for his first two ventures (SP&B in Brazil, Acunia in USA). After this, he moved back to Europe and joined Oblicore selling enterprise software systems in Europe and Asia. The business grew from 0 to over 20 Mln USD in 2007. During 2007 he coached an "old school" SW company (Tenforce) to reach out into the SAAS world by transforming their project management application into an online application. He has a built up a clear understanding of the opportunities and weaknesses of the internet and understands what it means to create value for shareholders. Bart is a contributing member of the VRM project sponsored by the Berkman Center at Harvard University and therefore has direct access to applicable expertise. Matthias Stevens has a Master's degree in Computer Science from the VUB and a Bachelor's degree in Applied Computer Science from Hogeschool Gent. He works at the Computer Science department of the VUB as a PhD student with a scholarship of the Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders (FWO). At the VUB Matthias is affiliated with the AI Lab and the SOFT lab (formerly PROG), respectably through his promoter Prof. Dr. Luc Steels and his co-promoter Prof. Dr. Theo D'Hondt. During the second half of 2008 and the summer of 2009 he also worked as a research trainee at the Sony Computer Science Lab (CSL) in Paris. His principal research interests are participative sensing, citizen science, ubiquitous computing, location-based services, geographical information systems and locative art and storytelling. At Sony CSL, Matthias was involved in the creation of NoiseTube, an ongoing research project focused on creating a collaborative platform for monitoring urban noise pollution. September 11, 2009: Attitude, Design & Action - Interplay between individual behavior, polical will and energy efficent incentives. Alok b. Nandi is active in cross-media design, concept, scenario, information architecture, articulating space and technology, mixing internet with different communication channels: in publishing, exhibitions and festivals. Adviser to projects (R&D, EU), companies and institutions, with a focus on innovation and change. Professor/lecturer and speaker. Background combines engineering, management and cinema studies. Gerrit Jan Schaeffer has 15 years of experience in energy research at the Energy research Center of the Netherlands (ECN). He got a PhD in 1998 on an analytical study of the dynamics in the history of fuel cell research. He has published on fuel cells, renewable energy policy issues, technology learning curves, energy models, integration of distruted generation and renewables and "Smart Grids". He has coordinated several EU-wide projects on these issues. Currently he is Manager of the "Intelligent Energy Management" group within the research program "Intelligent Electricity Grids" at ECN. Currently he is director of innovation & renovation at VITO, concentrating primarily on developing and stimulating technological innovation. Joeri De Ridder is technical advisor at NV GREEN MOBIL SA and President of ASBE (AVERE Belgium). He has an extensive customer-oriented background in the field of sustainable mobility. He brings more than 20 years of hands-on experience in battery electric vehicles to the GREEN MOBIL team. Over the last four years he has focused on marketing, selling and bringing to the market personal electric vehicles for city use. In this aim, he helps organize the yearly Ecomobiel fairs in Antwerp, which enjoys growing success. In March 2007 Joeri trained at Mega-Aixam (France) on DC-drives. Joeri joined forces with Green Mobil in 2007, where he became responsible for technical matters. He also participates to sales and marketing operations and press and public relations in Flanders. Later that year he followed a three weeks' comprehensive technical training on REVA cars in Bangalore (India) at the facilities of RECC, the producer of the REVA cars . In 2008, he was elected President of ASBE , the Belgian section of AVERE (European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles). Presentation of Joeri De Ridder Martin Vesper is CEO at Yello Strom, Germany. With 1.4 million customers, Yello is among Germany's 10 largest energy companies. Known for its progressive methods of working with customers, Yello approached IDEO to create a design language for an engaging, easy-to-understand electricity meter that makes personal energy consumption more accessible to users. The Yello Sparzähler meters are among the first of a new generation of remotely readable household instruments in Germany and mark a technology shift from black box to open book. Meter data is transferred to Yello via the Internet and can be accessed by customers through a software tool that Yello developed with an outside software firm. This tool displays a customer's energy usage in watts, kilowatt hours, even euros, which lets people make real-time energy- and money-saving adjustments for short- and long-term impact. The Yello Sparzähler shows consumers how much energy is used by their home's appliances, from washing machines and driers to refrigerators and stoves. In designing the meter and peripheral devices, IDEO focused on Yello's brand attributes: simple, positive, safe, smart, and affordable. IDEO also worked to create a device that would not overwhelm consumers with complex technology. As a result, an outer front casing -- in yellow (for basements and utility rooms) and white (for living spaces) -- conceals the mechanics of the device, while an LCD screen glows through the casing to show customers usage information. This re-interpretation of the revolving wheel found on traditional analog meters gives consumers an engaging "sign of life" that reminds them that their in-home power consumption can be tracked and their usage behavior altered based on their findings. Alex Laskey is President and Founder of Positive Energy. His expertise is in marketing and policy. Most recently he worked on several statewide ballot measures on environmental issues with the public opinion research and political strategy firm of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, and Associates (FMMA). While at FMMA, Laskey provided strategic consulting for The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, The League of Conservation Voters, and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency. Previously, Laskey managed a high profile campaign for the California State Assembly and ran other local and state campaigns. Laskey has worked in the White House and on two presidential campaigns. Before turning to politics and policy, Laskey worked as the director of new business for The Romann Group, a New York-based advertising agency where he identified, pursued and signed on over $50 million in business from consumer-facing clients including Citibank, Echostar - Dish Network, Priceline, Time Warner Cable, and AT&T. Alex Laskey received his B.A. in History of Science from Harvard University where he received a Ford Foundation Grant for his research on the environmental history of the American West. Alex Laskey will answer specific questions/share selected materials with people who get in touch: alex@positiveenergyusa.com Jan Van Mol has been called a concept king, a brand guru, a renaissance man, a pioneer in the creative industry. With an addiction to, and respect for, human creativity he has been doing research and building up cases in the advertising, fashion, cooking, art and design scene, setting up a system using thousands of collaborators from different cultures and backgrounds, implementing collaborative processes and complete out of the box thinking. The system allows human talent to be accelerated. This system allows him to redefine 'marketing', offer innovation to the industry, and brand inspiration to cities. Jan van Mol's Ad!dict Creative Lab (in short addictlab.com) is a creative laboratory uniting thousands of creatives from all over the world and over 30 disciplines (amongst others: fashion, photography, architecture, cooking, design, materials, music, advertising, branding). Jan Van Mol was recently selected by I.D. magazine for their top 40 of undersung heroes influencing the creative industry. He created branding tools such as 'inspiration showers©' and the so-called Creative X-Ray© allowing brands like Diesel, Nike, Thalys, BMW, Toyota, and also non-profit organisations, the city of Rotterdam, the city of Kortrijk and the Flemish Government to tap into Addicts unmatched pool of creative and multidisciplinary talent to further enhance their product innovation and brand identity. Olle Dierks is Communication Strategist at Interactive Institute Stockholm Area, Sweden. Olle Dierks graduated in Economics and Law at the School of Business, Gothenburg University. Formerly he worked as a project manager at Gothenburg City Theatre and was co-founder of Abnorm Design Company. Olle Dierks has been active for several years in designing web, print, clothes and video for clients such as Diesel, Miramax and NGO's connected to Sida. Combining knowledge in business, science and technology with a design and CSR background, he is a creative generalist with a wide knowledge in separate but connected areas, such as business visions, open innovation, communication strategies, public relations, project management, ideation, information design, and visual arts. From April 2008 until present he has been developing strategies of how to make energy design projects useful for the world. Examples of his present work are the world touring exhibition Visual Voltage, the Open Innovation initiative in Eskilstuna, the energy concept house for Kulturhuset and the dissemination for the EU research project BeAware. Presentation of Olle Dierks May 14th, 2009: THE ATOMIUM SESSIONS - Navigating the Complex Nature of Energy Efficiency
Prof. J. De Ruyck (1952) became Electromechanical Engineer at the VUB in 1975. He got his PhD in 1982 in the field of turbomachines. After his career in Fluid Mechanics, he turned into thermodynamics in 1988. He soon became involved in the energy production through technology assessment and different EC projects. He initiated new developments in the field of gas turbine cycles, combustion, biomass gasification and more recently on sustainability aspects of energy from biomass. His activity in biomass research led to involvement in the field of renewable energies more in general, through technology assessment studies and membership in different advisory groups (Electrabel, ODE Vlaanderen, KVIV genootschap energie, AMPERE commission, Aminal, VITO, CE2030, Royal advisory council, Commission GEMIX). He was recently involved in the assessment of liquid biofuels in the framework of the Federal Research Actions, as coordinator of the project LIBIOFUELS. Prof. De Ruyck is author or co-author of more than hundred publications in the different fields mentioned above. He is presently teaching basic and advanced thermodynamics and energy supply to engineering and human ecology students the VUB. (abstract) Energy Efficiency is without doubt, together with renewables, considered as the cornerstone of climate policies and of policies to secure our energy supply. Progress has been achieved and important policies on energy efficiency are in the pipeline. However, when it comes to concrete implementation, other policies, in particular renewables policies, appear as much more important. Why is this so? The first answer is that energy efficiency suffers from a "not enough sexy" image: something that is not there, is hard to be presented. The second answer is that energy efficiency is much harder to measure than renewables. The current introduction of the European Energy Efficiency Directive and the "battle how to measure energy efficiency" illustrates this issue. The third answer may be that we are simply not doing well enough with energy efficiency policies because there are so many technologies involved which are hard to tackle. The presentation reviews the energy efficiency policies in place as well as forthcoming and points out the potentials to reduce energy consumption. Cost is often seen as an obstacle but a variety of studies have shown that we can substantially reduce consumption at economic benefits. In order to achieve reduction in energy consumption by 50% and more as required by long-term climate targets, we have to considerable spur up policy implementation but also enhance energy efficiency R&D. (bio) Wolfgang Eichhammer is Deputy Head of the Competence Center Energy Policy and Energy Systems of the Fraunhofer-Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (FhG-ISI). He is a physicist with professional experience in various countries of the European Union in the fields of thermal and electric conversion of solar energy, microelectronics and energy conservation. He has done professional work on the development of measurement systems, process modelling and process development. Eichhammer has extended knowledge in the systematic technical and economic assessment of conventional and future energy systems, especially in energy intensive industries. He is project co-ordinator of various international studies on the modelling and simulation of future potentials of energy conservation and renewable energies and is active in the development of energy efficiency indicators for industry. He is advisor to the European Commission in questions concerning the prioritising of research options in the field of energy and responsible for European affaires and international co-operation in the Competence Center Energy Policy and Energy Systems. Eichhammer has worked in many countries such as Central and Eastern countries (Poland and Czech Republic), South Korea, Brazil. He is co-ordinator for the European Network for Energy Economics Research (ENER) and member of the Technical and Scientific Council of the Fraunhofer Society. Presentation of Wolfgang Eichhammer Alain Vermeiren is Executive Advisor in the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), the strategic consulting arm of Cisco. IBSG collaborates with Global 500 CXOs and public sector leaders to transform their organizations - first by designing innovative business processes, and then by integrating advanced technologies into visionary roadmaps. He is working primarily with telecommunication service providers and governments. He has also extensive experience in retail banking. Recent works have been related to broadband stimulation, national recovery plans and innovation-led sustainable economies. Alain Vermeiren has more than 20-year experience in the industry. Prior to joining Cisco IBSG in January 2000, he was a principal consultant with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), coming from BIM, a Belgian high-tech company, where he was director of technology marketing and consulting. Alain Vermeiren holds an MSc in telecommunications engineering University of Louvain-UCL and a master's degree in industrial management University of Leuven-KUL. Presentation of Alain Vermeiren Clive van Heerden is Senior Director of Design-Led Innovation at Philips Design. One of his main responsibilities in this role is leading the Probes program, which consists of 'far-future' research initiatives that aim at identifying long-term systemic shifts and anticipating changes in future lifestyles. Examples of recent Probes projects include Electronic Tattoo, Emotional sensing Dresses and Sustainable Habitat 2020. Clive joined Philips Research in 1995, where he was tasked with bringing designers into a technical research environment. He moved to Philips Design in 1998 to become Director of the Soft Technologies design research activity. In this role he put together a team of experts from various textile and apparel disciplines, developing wearable electronic and conductive textile solutions and overseeing collaborations with other companies. Clive has also managed Philips Design branches in Redhill, New York and London.While at University in South Africa Clive obtained two degrees in the social sciences. In 1986 he moved to London, where he completed a research fellowship at Westminster University. He gained two further degrees in the social sciences before graduating in 1991 with a Masters degree in interaction design from the Royal College of Art in London. Clive and the Probes team have won various design awards for innovative research, including a 'best of the best' red dot award and a Time Magazine Best Invention award in 2007 Presentation not available
Presentation of Hans Nilsson
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SCIENCE & INDUSTRY LUNCH - WEDNESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2009
Energy Efficiency: Paradigm Shifts in Innovation Catherine Cooremans: When public tries to meet private - Strategic and cultural dimensions of energy - efficiency investments (abstract) In many cases, improving energy-efficiency entails an investment decision. According to mainstream neo-classical economics, investment decisions are made on financial considerations. Based on this view, public programs promoting energy-efficiency provide information and financial incentives to business users. Unfortunately, these programs are not successful enough, and a significant energy-saving potential, achievable in a cost-effective way (e.g. where investments profitability is higher than companies' cost of capital), remains untapped in most commercial buildings or industrial sites. Organizational decision-making research provides some answers to this situation: it has shown that financial factors only partially explain businesses' investments and that a decision must be understood as a process in context, influenced by the characteristics of the investment itself (non-strategic issues lose the competition) and by the actors involved. Decision makers' cognitions affect issues categorizing. Therefore a different approach to promoting energy-efficiency investments is needed. (bio) Catherine Cooremans is a researcher at the business school (HEC) of the University of Geneva. Her research interests include the interface between financial and strategic management, with a focus on energy-efficiency investments and on "the strategic fit" of energy efficiency. She is also an energy and climate consultant to businesses and to demand-side management programs organized jointly by Geneva Energy Office (SCanE) and by SIG (Services Industriels de Genève), the Geneva electricity & gas producer and distributor. Presentation not available (abstract) Man is often described as a rational being. However, from the philosophical point of view, it is often not clear what is meant by the epxression "to be rational". As psychologists, sociologists, economists and other human scientists examine the human being in all its curious behaviours, they are time and again forced to conclude that humans are to be labeled as irrational, driven by emotions and instincts, incapable of serious deliberation, and such similar quite unflattering expressions. The core thesis of my contribution is that this opposition should be reversed. Finally we are coming to terms with our own self-image and are thus far better equiped to handle such matters as energy efficiency and risk management in terms of what it takes to convince a population to take an option for a particular life-style. (bio) Jean Paul Van Bendegem is a philosopher and mathematician and professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in logic and philosophy of science. He is president of the National Center for Research in Logic, director of the Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science, and he is also co-director of the interdisciplinary Center Leo Apostel (VUB). His research concerns mainly non-classical logics, the practice and philosophy of mathematics and, more generally, the relations between science, religion, and society. Topics studied by members of the research group are: cultural identity, biological origins of language and basic mathematical capacities, philosophy of information, philosophy of consciousness. More info: http://www.vub.ac.be/LSTS/people/Vanbendegem/index.shtml Download Jean Paul Van Bendegems' presentation here (abstract) Within the UK, a Scottish Parliament and government have been established to administer a number of devolved areas of public policy. Certain aspects of energy policy are devolved to Edinburgh, while some are reserved to London. The presentation will consider the benefits and drawbacks of such an arrangement . (bio) Iain Todd has spent his career working on energy policy and energy projects, both as a civil servant and as a private consultant. Between 2002 and 2004 he was Director of Renewable Energy in the UK Government. Now an energy consultant in Scotland, his clients include the Scottish Government and the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group. He is also Professor of Renewable Energy Policy at the University of Aberdeen. Download Iain Todds' presentation here (bio) Dr Jos B. Peeters is Founder and Managing Partner of Capricorn Venture Partners NV, a Belgian based pan-European manager of venture capital funds seeking to invest in technology-based growth companies. Jos is regarded as one of the pioneers in European venture capital, being active in this area since 1985. He co-founded and became Chairman of Quest for Growth NV, an Investment Company quoted on the Brussels Stock Exchange which is specialising in investing in quoted and later stage unquoted technology based growth companies. Jos was Chairman of the Working Group which founded the European Association of Securities Dealers (EASD) and developed the concept of EASDAQ. In partnership with Börse Berlin the company is relaunching as Equiduct, a regulated market for secondary trading in Europe. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of Börse Berlin and a Director of Easdaq NV. Jos has a PhD in Physics from the University of Louvain. He was co-founder and first chairman of the Belgian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (BVA). He has been a member of the Board and in 1989/1990 he was chairman of the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EVCA). Download Jos B Peeters' presentation here Download Stefan Grosjeans' presentation here ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCIENCE & INDUSTRY LUNCH - FRIDAY 5 DECEMBER 2008 Setting the scene in automotive (bio) Prof. Dr. ir. Joeri Van Mierlo (EPE and IEEE member) graduated in 1992 as electro-mechanical engineer at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, V.U.B. His master thesis was devoted to the development of the PLC automatisation of a dynamic roll bench to test electric vehicles. Download Joeri Van Mierlo's presentation here Energy efficiency as result of management Jan Rotmans is the scientific director of DRIFT. In September 2004 he established the new research institute DRIFT: Dutch Research Institute For Transitions and received a position as full professor in transitions and transition management at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. Jan Rotmans is one of the founding fathers of Integrated Assessment and an expert in the field of integrated modelling, scenario-analysis, indicator-development and uncertainty-analysis and -management. He is initiator of the Global Modelling Forum for Sustainable Development, vice-chairman of the European Forum on Integrated Environmental Assessment (EFIEA), and vice-president of TIAS: The Integrated Assessment Society. From 1994-2000 he was vice-chairman of the PIK-Institute in Potsdam, and from 2004 he is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Tyndall Institute in Norwich, UK. Jan Rotmans has more than 200 publications in the field of climate change & global change modelling, sustainable development, and transitions and system innovations. He has given numerous keynote lectures all over the world and attended numerous conferences and workshops. For his PhD-research he received the SNS-prize, and in 2003 he received the IIAS-Award, on behalf of the International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics. Download Jan Rotmans' presentation here Paradigm Shifts in Sustainable Design, Building and Community (abstract) Last year, for the first time in human history, more people now live in (bio) Mr. Brew has over 28 years of sustainable design experience in historic, commercial, institutional, and residential architecture. He specializes in integrated design, whole systems thinking and leads RMI’s Built Environment Team Design & Planning Studio. His studio is Download James Brew's presentation here Eco-efficient optimization of metal industry (abstract) The basic Umicore strategy with respect to generating and delivering material technology solutions is explained. Many new applications of these material technology solutions are in the area of Clean Technologies , and for all new applications the recycling technology is generated as well. Recycling of the material technology solutions is in many cases the most energy efficient way to assure the supply of non-ferrous materials, and in all cases an effective way to minimize their potential negative impact on the environment. Doing so, Umicore contributes to the sustainability of it's operations. (bio) Egbert Lox (MSc & PhD, University of Ghent, 1987) is currently Vice President of Group R&D , which is the corporate R&D department at Umicore and guest lecturer at the TH Karlsruhe; ENSPM, Institut Francais du Petrole and Volkswagen - AutoUni. Throughout his career he held various positions in the chemical industry in Germany and Belgium, such as Vice President External Relations Automotive Catalyst Division at Umicore , Director R&D Automotive Catalyst Division at OMG and Director R&D Automotive Catalyst Division at dmc² (Degussa). He is co-inventor of about 140 patents in the field of catalytic automotive exhaust emission control and author of about 100 technical publications, amongst which three major book contributions. Egbert Lox is member of CAWET , Belgium and board member of the Verein der Freunde und Foerderer der TU Darmstadt, Germany , next to may other professional boards and institutions in Europe. Presentation not available yet -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCIENCE & INDUSTRY LUNCH - WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2008
Paradigm shifts in energy efficiency perspectives Gerrit Jan Schaeffer has 15 years of experience in energy research at the Energy research Center of the Netherlands (ECN). He got a PhD in 1998 on an analytical study of the dynamics in the history of fuel cell research. He has published on fuel cells, renewable energy policy issues, technology learning curves, energy models, integration of distruted generation and renewables and "Smart Grids". He has coordinated several EU-wide projects on these issues. Currently he is Manager of the "Intelligent Energy Management" group within the research program "Intelligent Electricity Grids" at ECN. Currently he is director of Innovation & renovation at VITO, concentrating primarily on developing and stimulating technological innovation. Presentation Nicolas Glansdorff is Emeritus Professor of Microbiology and Genetics of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Honorary Director of the Jean-Marie Wiame Institute for Microbiological Research in Brussels. He received MSc and PhD degrees in Biology from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. He was several years postdoctoral fellow of the Belgian National Science Foundation; this period included a one year visit in 1967 at the Institute of Genetics of Glasgow University, directed at the time by Professor G. Pontecorvo. He made several visits of a few months each at the Department of Microbiology of the New York University Medical School in the laboratory of Professor WK Maas At the beginning his research interests resided mainly in molecular genetics and mechanisms of gene regulation, using pyrimidine and arginine biosynthesis as a model system. In recent years, his interest became more and more focused on the molecular physiology and evolutionary relationships of microorganisms adapted to extreme conditions (such as high and low temperatures, high hydrostatic pressure) and the origin of life. Presentation not available Max Mergeay retired a few months ago as Head of the Section Radiobiology & Microbiology at the SCK CEN and works now as a consultant. He joined the SCK·CEN in 1968. His main experience is situated in environmental and soil microbiology (anthropogenic or industrial harsh environments) and bacterial genetics. Interests: space biology, horizontal gene transfer, genomics, gene responses to environmental stress. Mergeay is one of the founders of the project MELIiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) has been conceived as a micro-organisms and higher plants based ecosystem intended as a tool to gain understanding of the behaviour of artificial ecosystems, and for the development of the technology for a future regenerative life support system for long term manned space missions, e.g. a lunar base or a mission to Mars. MELiSSA is a bioregenerative life support system designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the complete recycling of gas, liquid and solid wastes during long distance space exploration. The system uses the combined activity of different living organisms: microbial cultures in bioreactors, a plant compartment and a human crew. In this minireview, the development of a short-cut ecological system for the biotransformation of organic waste is discussed from a microorganism's perspective. The artificial ecological model-still in full development-that is inspired by Earth's own geomicrobiological ecosystem serves as an ideal study object on microbial ecology and will become an indispensable travel companion in manned space exploration. Presentation Angelo Vermeulen is a visual artist, filmmaker, writer, DJ, gamer and scientist. As an artist he works with digital media, video, photography and installations. In 1998 he obtained a PhD in biology at the University of Leuven, Belgium, together with a degree in photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leuven. His PhD research was situated in the domains of ecology, environmental pollution and teratology. After his studies, he moved to London to collaborate with Nick Waplington. Back in Belgium he became an artist in residence at HISK (Higher Institute of Fine Arts) in Antwerp. His bio installations, experimental setups incorporating living cells, organisms and sci-fi references are his most well-known works. Up until 2005 he has been working on the experimental film project 'SKANNER', an interactive inquiry into human fear in cooperation with Tamuraj, electronic musician and AI researcher. In 2005 he founded 'Drumlander', a creative platform on game culture in collaboration with Canadian gamer and artist Louis Blackburn. ‘Drumlander’ has been presenting audio performances with game music and installations with underground games. Currently Vermeulen develops ‘Biomodd’, a worldwide series of installations fusing game culture, ecology and social interaction. In 2008 the project received a nomination for the Ars Electronica Hybrid Art Prix. 'Translucent Futures' is Vermeulen's latest project and deals with ubiquitous technology and the attrition of civil rights and privacy. The project is set up in close collaboration with the arts organizations FoAM and [nadine] in Brussels.Vermeulen is regularly invited to give international lectures on art, science and new technologies. During the past few years he has given more than 50 talks throughout Europe, the US and Asia. He recently published 'Baudelaire in Cyberspace', a unique dialogue book on the relation between art, technology and digital culture, written in partnership with art philosopher Antoon Van den Braembussche. More info on http://www.angelovermeulen.net Elke Beyer , ETH Zürich/Project Shrinking Cities, born 1974, holds an M.A. in History and Slavic Studies; university studies in Cologne, London and New York; since 2000, free lance development and realization of events, city walks, film programs on urban history and a temporary archive for staatsbankberlin; 2002-2006 research associate in the project Shrinking Cities, Office Philipp Oswalt, Berlin; 2004-2005 guest editor of the journal An Architektur for a special issue on the eastern border of the EU for the exhibition Projekt Migration, Cologne; since March 2006, assistant at the gta (Institute for History and Theory of Architecture), ETH Zürich; research project on planning, production and current transformation of 1960s city centres in Russia and eastern Germany. Urbanism vs. the Growth Paradigm. A relatively new and entirely unplanned trend of urban development has taken hold in old industrial societies: For increasing numbers of towns and cities, economic and demographic indicators point towards stagnation or even shrinkage. Declining birthrates and aging societies, declining demand for labour and global relocation of industrial production, suburbanization and increased mobility as well as the fragmentation of growth pockets have inverted the development of many urban regions. The growth paradigm which informs much urban planning and our imaginary of cities in general requires revision. In Germany's eastern states, unemployment, population decline and abandonment of housing continue in alarming figures while planners and politicians find themselves at loss how to ?solve" the structural problems and how to deal with the heritage of the state socialist new towns, satellites and large-scale housing estates. The cultural and urbanist research project Shrinking Cities was initiated by the German Federal Culture Foundation in order to establish new perspectives on these developments, to put them in international and trans-disciplinary context and to invite proposals for interventions from architects and planners as well as a wide range of cultural producers. Presentation not available, but more information is available on www.shrinkingcities.com Geert Palmers holds a master degree in Electrotechnical Engineering (KU Leuven, 1991) and in Environmental Sciences (FUL, 1993)
Energy Efficiency is a joint project by:
with as structural partners:
and supporting partners:
Marleen Wynants is CROSSTALKS Operational Director Sara Engelen is CROSSTALKS Production Assistant
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