Missouri S&T Chancellor John F. Carney III will chair a statewide energy summit hosted by the four-campus University of Missouri System April 22-23 in Columbia. Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, architect of the “Pickens Plan” to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, is the keynote speaker for the event.

Pickens’ keynote address is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 (Earth Day) in Jesse Hall Auditorium on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. The speech is free and open to the public, but due to limited seating, registration is required. To register, visit www.missourisummits.com.

In addition to Pickens’ speech, the two-day summit will feature presentations by other national experts on energy policy and research, and research presentations by faculty and students from the four UM campuses. Presenters include several Missouri S&T researchers, who will discuss issues related to power generation, transportation fuels, energy infrastructure and materials for energy applications. (More about Missouri S&T energy research is available at e3.mst.edu.)
Pickens is the founder and chairman of BP Capital Management, one of the nation’s most successful energy-oriented investment funds. His Pickens Plan calls for revamping U.S. energy policy to harness domestic energy alternatives while promoting the development of new technologies for alternative energy.

Pickens elevated energy reform into the national debate during the 2008 presidential campaign, with both candidates using direct facts and statistics provided by the Pickens Plan on the campaign trail. Many aspects of the Pickens Plan were included in President Obama’s stimulus package, including incentives for advancement of wind, solar, and other alternative energy sources and a new transmission grid. Taking advantage of abundant domestic alternative fuels like natural gas to reduce our country’s staggering dependence on foreign oil, which has reached nearly 70 percent, remains a top priority of Mr. Pickens as he continues his call for a comprehensive energy plan.

University of Missouri System President Gary Forsee announced in December that the Energy Summit would be one of two statewide economic development forums spearheaded this year by the university’s four campuses. The second summit, slated for Oct. 7-8 in Kansas City, will focus on biological and life sciences.
Pickens’ speech kicks off an afternoon lineup of leading national energy experts at the Energy Summit. First-day speakers include:

• Dale Klein, chairman, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Missouri S&T alumna Joan Woodard, Ph.D., executive vice president and deputy laboratories director, nuclear weapons program, Sandia National Laboratories
• Gary Rainwater, chairman, CEO and president, AmerenUE
• Fredrick D. Palmer, senior vice president, Peabody Energy
• Richard Sayre, director, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
• Bob Dixon, incoming chair, Alliance to Save Energy Board
• Missouri S&T alumnus Bob Kruse, executive director of global vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries, General Motors
• Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy
• Michael Chesser, chairman and CEO, Great Plains Energy and KCP&L
• Research officers from the University of Missouri System’s four campuses

Day two of the Missouri Energy Summit will feature presentations and panel discussions by researchers invited from public and private universities across the state, governmental and nonprofit agencies, energy companies, and others.