Renewable energy research is taking center stage at UNLV August 15-16 as researchers and industry leaders from across the state gather at the Stan Fulton Building for the inaugural UNLV Energy Symposium.

Sponsored by UNLV's Office of Strategic Energy Programs (OSEP), the two-day event for the first time assembles all of Southern Nevada's renewable energy projects, including research from UNLV, the Desert Research Institute (DRI), and a host of community and private organizations. Organizers hope to stimulate discussion related to the future of renewable and sustainable energy in Southern Nevada and forge collaborations between research and industry.

"Nevada offers some of the greatest access to renewable energy resources in the world," said OSEP director Oliver Hemmers. "UNLV researchers are tapping into this potential by developing new ways to address environmental and energy production issues facing the region and beyond."

Collaborating within the university and with industry and academic partners nationwide, UNLV faculty are involved in large scale research related to solar and wind energy, sustainable architecture and alternative fuels such as hydrogen and biodiesel.

Among the research to be presented during the symposium:

• UNLV Distinguished Professor of Engineering Bob Boehm will discuss current projects underway at the Center for Energy Research, including photovoltaic system design, hydrogen fuel production and the center's many public and private partnerships
• UNLV Chemistry Professor Clemens Heske will stress the importance of understanding energy production at its most basic, or atomic, level. Heske and his team use equipment found nowhere else in the world to study microscopic properties in order to optimize materials and devices
• UNLV School of Architecture Professor Alfredo Fernandez-Gonzalez will present research on energy consumption in the residential sector and the development of marketable systems for solar heating and cooling in the Las Vegas Valley

Additional UNLV faculty and representatives from DRI, Nellis Air Force Base, Kummer Kaempfer, Bonner, Renshaw & Ferrario, and Harrah's also plan to present. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.