Researchers from Nevada System of Higher Education and partner universities address current and emerging trends in clean energy research and technology each semester as part of the Nevada Renewable Energy Consortium Lecture Series.

Lectures are free and open to the public and will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Barrick Museum Auditorium at UNLV. For more information, please visit barrickmuseum.unlv.edu.

August 31

Finding New Heat-Loving Microorganisms to Improve Biofuels Production
Brian Hedlund - Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, UNLV

Finding a way to overcome the large expense of converting waste to biofuels is a major priority in the clean energy industry. This presentation will outline current efforts to identify new thermophilic, or heat-loving, microorganisms and enzymes in Nevada's hot springs that can degrade agricultural and industrial wastes directly to biofuels or to fermentable sugars - saving water and improving energy efficiency.

September 7

Using Green Algae for Biofuel Production and Carbon Recycling
John Cushman - Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UNR

Green algae are ideally suited as a non-seasonal, renewable energy resource for the arid western U.S. because they can be grown on marginal lands with municipal waste and in brackish or saline water unsuitable for traditional agriculture, and they can leverage geothermal and solar resources. Green algae also offer potential for recycling carbon dioxide from biomass and coal power plants. This lecture will discuss current research methods to optimize algal production and compare harvesting systems.

September 14

Cyanobacterial Sugars for Biofuel Production
David R. Nobles - Curator, UTEX Collection of Algae, University of Texas at Austin

Through genetic modifications, strain selection and novel culturing techniques, several strains of cyanobacteria have been developed that are capable of synthesizing and secreting large amounts of cellulose, glucose and/or sucrose. Through these products biofuels can be produced. Join us for a discussion of this process and the potential capabilities of biofuels production.

September 21

Can We Live Off Sustainable Energy? A Quantitative Approach
George Rhee - Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, UNLV

This lecture will address the issue of whether we can sustain our current rate of energy consumption by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. We'll estimate the per-capita energy consumption by category such as transport, heating, electricity etc. We will discuss both the scientific and political dimensions of a viable energy plan for our country that does not include fossil fuels.