Visiting Scholar, Alex Beehler Speaks at Global Solutions Summit


January 20, 2017

 

On December 12, Alex Beehler, Visiting Scholar and Board Member of the Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI), participated in a roundtable on finance development projects in the United States and across the world that focus on environmental sustainability and poverty.   

This roundtable titled “The Role of Higher Education in Accelerating Clean Tech Innovation & Deployment" was part of the Global Solutions Summit (GSS) P80 Group gathering held at the University of Arkansas, Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Arkansas.  This was a four-day event including global leaders of governments, nonprofits, businesses, and financial institutions. 

A panel titled "Sustainability, Innovation, and Technology Deployment in Higher Education" brought together academic leaders from four public universities; the Universities of Arkansas, Florida, Indiana and Virginia Tech - as well as Alex Beehler who discussed the role of EEMI at GWU.  The panel explored how universities are stimulating innovation in the field of clean technology research, applications, and deployment globally.  Presenters discussed best practices for leveraging the resources of higher education to pioneer new solutions for global sustainability.

Mr. Beehler also participated in a second panel titled "Bridging the Gap: Public-Private Initiatives in Technology Demonstration and Verification and its Role in Cleantech Commercialization and Deployment." This panel focused on in-the-field demonstration programs that support commercialization to bridge the gap between technology development initiatives and sustainability evaluations occurring at universities and startup companies.  During the discussion, Mr. Beehler drew upon insights gleaned from overseeing such programs while at the Department of Defense.

One immediate result of the roundtable and subsequent discussions at the Summit is the formation of the Higher Education Cleantech Consortium (HECC); which will enhance Cleantech and Sustainability efforts at home and abroad.  Mr. Beehler will continue to participate in these efforts as a member of the HECC Steering Committee.