Researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals convened on Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus last week for the Energy Technology and Science Bridge, an international forum designed to accelerate energy innovation through strategic partnerships.
Hosted by the Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI), the National Science Foundation’s Electric Power Innovation for a Carbon-free Society (EPICS) Center, and the Embassy of Belgium in the United States, the event attracted diplomats and representatives from Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, and the EU Delegation to the U.S. to explore collaborations with Hopkins’ leading energy research programs.
In his opening remarks, Ed Schlesinger, the Benjamin T. Rome Dean at JHU’s Whiting School of Engineering, said the university is educating the next generation of engineering leaders through cross-disciplinary education and strategic investments.
“At Johns Hopkins, we’re equipping students and future leaders with the skills to address complex challenges, and with our planned investment of more than $2 billion in AI and data science, ROSEI and EPICS will play a significant role in integrating machine learning to develop future energy solutions,” he said.
The Energy Technology and Science Bridge, inspired by the earlier Science and Diplomacy series, featured talks by JHU researchers, including Elizabeth Reilly, supervisor of the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory’s Complex Systems Group, and Jonah Erlebacher, professor of materials science and engineering at the Whiting School, along with industry representatives, including David Villa, Constellation Energy’s director of corporate strategy.
The day’s presentations and discussions explored three major themes. Technologies and strategies for decarbonization with featured talks by Erlebacher, Reilly, and Scot Miller, assistant professor of environmental health and engineering. Harnessing AI for clean energy applications, including presentations by Villa and Magdalena Klemun, assistant professor of civil and systems engineering, and comprehensive planning frameworks for sustainable energy conversion were explored by Ján Drgoňa, associate professor of civil and systems engineering, and Yury Dvorkin, associate professor of civil and systems engineering and electrical and computer engineering and U.S. director of EPICS, a NSF Global Center for use-inspired research addressing global challenges in climate change and clean energy.
Michel Wallemacq, senior economic advisor at the Embassy of Belgium, shared his excitement about the event, underscoring the potential for future collaborations. “There’s a strong need for a science and diplomacy collaboration and this event is only the beginning of an opportunity to learn from Johns Hopkins,” he said.
ROSEI’s Deputy Director and Associate Research Scientist Ben Link said, “I’m really encouraged to see such a strong turnout of diplomatic representatives who are committed to developing clean, renewable energy solutions. There are very few programs that support international collaboration in this field, and ROSEI is excited to facilitate essential cross-border partnerships.”
Dvorkin noted that education and research are not confined to academia and play a pivotal role in shaping sustainable energy policies globally.
“This kind of collaboration can help drive new, innovative energy solutions tailored to the challenges we’re facing,” said Dvorkin, who co-organized the event with Ben Hobbs, global director of EPICS. “We appreciate the interest from our partners in developing an agenda to enable transatlantic collaboration on topics that are of mutual interest to researchers and industry professionals, from expanding energy resource availability to power the AI revolution, to using data science and AI to improve energy efficiency of buildings, power grid management, and supply chain analysis.”
The organizers say the event exemplifies the university’s commitment to connecting energy policy with technology development.
Javier Sancho Velazquez, head of global issues and innovation at the EU Delegation to the U.S., said, “For us, as diplomats, having a fluid relationship with academia is vital to shaping effective policies. The measure of our success will always be how much we can influence policy-making in each of our countries. Listening to people working on our topics from an academic perspective, not just a business perspective, is something we need in our roles.”