Abstract:
Sustainable energy is a focus of multiple programs under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, spanning initiatives both for clean generation and reduced usage of energy. We will briefly introduce a few of these programs in the context of funding levels and the challenges to producing a truly sustainable energy infrastructure. The energy demands of the next 30 years will likely produce a continuing reliance on fossil fuels, although they require investment to reduce CO2 emissions and other pollutants. Widespread adoption of intermittent sources such as solar and wind rely on the introduction of new storage technologies. Even with those, however, adoption of “renewable” technology above a certain rate actually increases the emission of CO2. The demand for electricity can be significantly reduced by adopting technologies such as solid state lighting. Here again, however, increasing the efficiency of general lighting does not necessarily reduce its energy consumption.

Biography:
Paul E. Burrows obtained the PhD degree in Physics from Queen Mary College, University of London, in 1989. His work there led to the design of a three dimensional molecular electronic device known as the Inchworm Memory. From 1990 – 2000, he was a Research Scientist in the Frontier Research Program at the Riken Institute in Japan, the University of Southern California and Princeton University. His work encompassed the first demonstration of organic molecular quantum well structures and a portfolio of intellectual property around organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) including transparent, staked, flexible and phosphorescent light emitters which led to the spinout of Universal Display Corporation. He subsequently joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a Laboratory Fellow, the highest level scientist of the US government. He was also instrumental in the development of multilayer thin film encapsulation for OLEDs, the latter work leading to the spinout of Vitex Systems Inc. which was eventually acquired by Samsung. In 2013, he was appointed Senior Vice President for Research at the Institute of New Energy, Shenzhen, China. Dr. Burrows has over 100 refereed publications and is a co-inventor of 94 issued U.S. patents.