Renewable energy prize winner to speak at UofL

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jay Whitacre, winner of the 2017 Leigh Ann Conn Prize for Renewable Energy from the University of Louisville, will give a public lecture March 15.

An international pioneer in sustainable energy technology, Whitacre’s free lecture will begin at 3 p.m. at the UofL Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium. Middle and high school students are encouraged to attend.

Whitacre, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, is known for his work with sodium-ion batteries, which are an economical way to incorporate renewable energy into the grid. While at UofL, Whitacre will receive the Conn Prize medal and $50,000 award at a dinner in his honor.

The Leigh Ann Conn Prize is given every other year by UofL’s Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering. The prize acknowledges ideas and achievements in research related to the science, engineering, technology and commercialization of renewable energy. It is named for the late daughter of Hank and Rebecca Conn, who are center supporters and prize benefactors.

The inaugural Conn Prize was won in 2013 by Dr. Michael Graetzel, developer of the dye-sensitized solar cell. The 2015 prize was awarded to Dr. Dan Nocera for the development of the Artificial Leaf and large-scale flow battery.

Parking for the lecture will be available in the Speed Art Museum parking garage or in the University Club/Alumni Center parking lot by the north entrance to Belknap Campus.

For more information, visit http://leighannconnprize.com/.

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Editors: Photo of Jay Whitacre is attached.