Mellisa Ludwig San Antonio Express News November 9, 2009
The University of Texas at San Antonio has recruited Les Shephard, a top energy and water expert at Sandia National Laboratories, to head up its fledgling Institute for Conventional, Alternative and Renewable Energy, a hire that locals say will lend instant credibility to the city's efforts to help solve the looming global energy and water crises.
"It's like a first-round draft pick in the NBA," said David Marquez, Bexar County's economic development director. "Shephard's credentials and connections are a quantum leap ... from being yet another energy research institute into one that is going to be globally recognized."
Shephard begins work at UTSA on April 15.
His hiring comes at a crucial juncture for UTSA, which is competing with six other Texas universities for Tier One research status. UTSA must boost its federal research spending and has tagged energy as an area of focus.
"This is one of the most important hires we have made this decade," said Ricardo Romo, president of UTSA. "We identified energy as one of our top priorities. Now it is going to be a reality instead of just a vision."
More at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/New_hire_at_UTSA_called_key_for_SA.html
SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dr. Les Shephard, the new director of the Institute for Conventional, Alternative and Renewable Energy (I-CARE) at UTSA, is to be the featured luncheon speaker at the upcoming Joint Base San Antonio Sustainable Energy Workshop being held at the Pearl Stable on June 9th. This workshop is being presented by the Defense Transformation Institute, a not-for-profit organization.
Dr. Shephard will join other presenters in reviewing the energy challenges facing Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA). The keynote speaker, Brig. Gen. Len Patrick, Commander of JBSA, will kick off the workshop outlining his new organization which includes Lackland AFB, Randolph AFB and Ft. Sam Houston and discussing the efforts to meet new sustainable energy goals.
Speakers from each of the installations will review their initiatives and new technologies and approaches to meeting energy conservation goals and using renewable sources of energy. Representatives from CPS Energy will review their collaborative efforts to support the military installations in San Antonio, which together represent one of their largest customers.
Dr. Shephard is a nationally recognized expert on energy and water issues. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in Oceanography from Texas A&M University.
Currently, Dr. Shephard is looking at the whole notion of energy efficiency and how it can best be achieved throughout the spectrum of energy development, transmission, storage and use. He is working on security issues surrounding the “smart grid,” the nexus between energy and water, and electrification of the transportation sector.
For more details about the workshop, see www.SustainableEnergyWorkshop.com.
For more information on the Defense Transformation Institute, visit www.defensetransform.org.
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