Leadership Summit 2026

Written By Scott Institute

UEILC Summit: Expanding Collaborations for Resilient Energy Futures

In a time of growing energy demand and rapidly changing global conditions, it has never been more important to advance innovative, resilient energy solutions. This summit brings together leaders of university energy institutes to engage with experts from industry, government, and civil society, exploring the collaborations needed to scale novel technologies and fuels, strengthen energy security, modernize policy, and develop the future workforce at the pace required to secure our energy future.

When:
Wednesday, October 14th 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, 2026
Thursday, October 15th 9:00 am to 2:30 pm, 2026

Where:
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta


This year’s Summit will feature keynotes and panel discussions focused on:

  • Regional Resilience: One-size Does Not Fit All

  • Vulnerabilities in the Grid

  • Geopolitics and Planning for a Resilient Future

  • Data Centers: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

  • Educating the Workforce

  • Future Priorities for the UEILC

Register for the 2026 UEILC Summit

2026 UEILC Leadership Summit Agenda

More speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026 (Optional Tours)

2:00-5:00 [OPTIONAL] Tours of the Georgia Tech Advanced Pilot Manufacturing Facility


Wednesday, October 14, 2026

8:15-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-9:15 Welcome: Georgia Tech Leadership, Strategic Energy Institute Leadership

9:15-9:45 Keynote: Academia’s Role in a Resilient Energy Future

  • Tim Lieuwen, Executive Vice President for Research, Georgia Institute of Technology

9:45-10:45 Introduction to UEILC Bridge Builder Fellows and Projects

10:45-11:05 BREAK

11:05-12:15 Fireside Chat: Perspectives from the Energy Sector

  • Mike Caravaggio, Vice President - Energy Supply - Reliability, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

  • Stephanie Gossman, Planning and Policy General Manager, Georgia Power Company

12:15-1:15 Networking Lunch

1:15-2:45 Panel 1: Regional Resilience: One Size Does Not Fit All

Amidst changing climate and economic drivers, communities across the country are facing a range of challenges and opportunities in maintaining the reliability of their energy infrastructure. This panel of experts will share and discuss the ways regions are managing their unique resources and constraints to transition their energy systems and to meet their constituent’s needs. What can we learn from the approaches being used by these different geographies?

  • Southeast: Dalia Patino-Echeverri, Associate Professor, Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University

  • South Central: Jeff Sammons, Associate Executive Director, Texas A&M Energy Institute

  • Appalachia / Mid-Atlantic: Sam Taylor, Director, WVU Institute for Sustainability and Energy Research

2:45-3:05 BREAK

3:05-4:35 Panel 2: Vulnerabilities in the Grid

Experts across national security, cybersecurity, and smart grids will explore modern power grid resilience. They will discuss leveraging model-predictive control, load forecasting, and reinforcement learning to empower distributed energy resource aggregators (DERAs) to manage real-time power demands, as well as critical cybersecurity frameworks and national security strategies needed to protect modern cyber-physical energy infrastructure against evolving threats.

  • Sam Litchfield, Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Lead, Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute

  • Tammy Taylor, Deputy Laboratory Director, Science and Technology, Savannah River Research Laboratory

  • Lalitha Sankar, Professor, School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University

  • Daniel Tkacik, Executive Director, Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University

4:35-5:55 Panel 3: Geopolitics and Planning for a Resilient Energy Future

The last 12 months have seen significant disruptions in global energy systems. What’s happening in global energy markets? How might events play out over the next several months to years? And what are the implications for how university energy institutes approach the future of energy, energy research, and energy education in a complex and uncertain world?

  • Adam Stulberg, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology

  • Gary Dirks, Senior Director, Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University

  • Clark Miller, Director, Center for Energy and Society, Arizona State University

6:15-8:00 Networking Reception


Thursday, October 15, 2026

8:15-9:00 Breakfast

9:00-9:30 Updates from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Virtual)

  • Evan Michelson, Program Director, Energy and Environment, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

  • Isabella Gee, Senior Program Associate, Energy and Environment, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

9:30-11:00 Panel 4: Data Centers: The Good, Bad, and Ugly?

Data centers have recently emerged in the public consciousness and engendered substantial opposition.  While local decision-makers highlight their roles in job creation and economic development, concerns are being expressed about rising utility rates, the magnitude of energy and environmental (e.g., water) resources they require, and the effects on human health, climate change, and the communities near the data center.  Moreover, the pace at which data centers are being proposed and built far exceeds the pace at which infrastructure can be built to provide for their demands. These issues, and more, are resulting in substantial public opposition to data centers, which others view as vital national security and technological capability.

  • Sharon Shewmake, Associate Professor, Western Washington University; former Washington State Senator

  • Bachir El Fil, Assistant Professor, Energy Innovation Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology

  • Jared Delrose, Senior Project Manager - Development, NextEra Energy Resources

11:00-11:20 BREAK

11:20-12:30 Panel 5: Thinking Ahead: Educating the Future Workforce

AI will change how we educate the workforce and what that workforce will be doing. Is our teaching keeping up with the times and the students? Is systems thinking part of our training? Are we creating a workforce that is adaptable? Are we providing enough mentoring? Can our graduates work effectively in teams and collaborate with diverse stakeholders? Do we have post graduation certificate programs or workshops to keep educating the workforce?

  • Amanda Graham, Director of Academic Programs, Irving Institute for Energy & Society, Dartmouth College

  • Vince Bowen, Executive Director, Energy Systems Technology and Education Center, Idaho State University

  • Alan Meier, Adjunct Professor, University of California - Davis; Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Angeliki “Diane” Rigos, President and Director, Epistimi

12:30-1:30 Networking Lunch

1:30-2:30 Setting Priorities for the UEILC

2:30 Summit Adjourns


Register for the 2026 UEILC Summit

Recommended Hotels

The Georgia Tech Hotel would be our first recommendation. Here are some others that are near campus: 

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