Carnegie Mellon University
February 03, 2014

Press Release: Carnegie Mellon's M. Granger Morgan To Speak on Climate Change at AAAS Meeting in Chicago

CMU Energy Expert To Address Challenges of Conducting Global Risk-Based Technology Assessment

Contact: Chriss Swaney / 412-268-5776 / swaney@andrew.cmu.edu

Granger MorganPITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University Professor M. Granger Morgan will discuss how the challenges of climate change will require a fundamental restructuring of the world's fragile energy systems at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Feb. 16 in Chicago.

"We will discuss a number of key uncertainties about how the energy system may evolve and some of the risks of acting or not acting, and we will look at strategies for moving forward to a low carbon energy future," said Morgan, the Lord Chair University Professor of Engineering, head of CMU's Department of Engineering and Public Policy, co-director of The Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and co-director of the Electricity Industry Center.

Morgan will point out that there are considerable uncertainties as to how a new energy system may evolve, what it will cost, and how the necessary transformation can best be achieved. "However, the presence of risk and uncertainty is not a reason for inaction," Morgan said.

In addition to his global climate and energy work, Morgan serves as chair of the Scientific and Technical Council for the International Risk Governance Council.

He also has served as chair of the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and as chair of the Advisory Council of the Electric Power Research Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the AAAS, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Society for Risk Analysis.

Morgan also will participate in an AAAS distinguished panel about how technology assessments inform public policy issues. Other panel members include: Peter Blair of the National Academy of Science, Timothy Persons of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, David Cope of Cambridge University, E. William Colglazier of the U.S. State Department and William J. Valdez of the U.S. Department of Energy.
                            
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M. Granger Morgan (pictured above) is head of CMU's Department of Engineering and Public Policy, co-director of The Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and co-director of the Electricity Industry Center.