Carnegie Mellon and 90.5 WESA Launch “Energy Bite” To Raise Awareness for Energy Issues

Carnegie Mellon University’s Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, a university-wide research institute leveraging the expertise of more than 100 faculty working on energy, is partnering with 90.5 WESA to launch “Energy Bite.” The co-production is a new 90-second weekly program debuting on Earth Day 2015, April 22, featuring a series of interviews with CMU faculty members discussing energy topics of interest to the general public.

“Our energy future is one of the great issues of the century. Yet, most people know relatively little about it and even less about new and emerging developments,” said Jared L. Cohon, President Emeritus, University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy, and director of the Scott Institute. “The Scott Institute’s Energy Bite, developed in partnership with 90.5 WESA, will fill many of these gaps for listeners, improving both understanding and the quality of decision-making about energy.”

Following the debut broadcast, interviews will be aired on 90.5 WESA each Friday at 2:38 p.m. EDT, during “Science Friday.” In addition to being broadcast on 90.5 WESA, each interview will be available for public radio stations across the U.S. to use in their own markets via the Public Radio Exchange (PRX).

“We are proud to be able to bring this content to our audience, which values learning and hearing from experts with diverse perspectives on issues affecting life in western Pennsylvania, ” said 90.5 WESA General Manager DeAnne Hamilton.

In addition to learning more about energy issues that impact everyday life, listeners will be encouraged to visit www.energybite.org to participate in a poll and submit questions for CMU faculty to discuss during upcoming episodes.

The initial group of participating CMU faculty include:

• Jay Apt, professor, Tepper School of Business and Department of Engineering and Public Policy; director, Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center;
• Inês Azevedo, associate professor, Department of Engineering and Public Policy; co-director, Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making;
• Stefan Bernhard, professor, Chemistry Department; Mellon College of Science;
• Karen Clay, associate professor, Economics and Public Policy, H. John Heinz III College;
• Jared L. Cohon, President Emeritus; University Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy; director, Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation;
• Andrew J. Gellman, co-director, Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation; Lord Professor of Chemical Engineering;
• David Hounshell, David M. Roderick Professor of Technology and Social Change, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences;
• Stephen Lee, professor and head, School of Architecture, College of Fine Arts;
• Meagan Mauter, assistant professor, Chemical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy;
• Jeremy J. Michalek, associate professor, Mechanical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy; director, Design Decisions Laboratory; director, Vehicle Electrification Group;
• M. Granger Morgan, Lord Chair Professor of Engineering; Professor, Engineering and Public Policy;
• Illah R. Nourbakhsh, professor, Robotics; director, CREATE Lab, School of Computer Science;
• Costa Samaras, assistant professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering;
• Jay Whitacre, associate professor, Materials Science and Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy; and
• Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, research scientist, Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making, Engineering and Public Policy.

About the Scott Institute

CMU’s Scott Institute, founded in 2012, is focused on:

• Using and delivering the energy we already have far more efficiently;
• Expanding the mix of energy sources in a way that is clean, reliable, affordable and sustainable; and
• Creating innovations in energy technologies, regulations and policies.

About 90.5 WESA

90.5 WESA is southwestern Pennsylvania’s only independent public radio news and information station. Launched in 2011, it serves 2 million listeners in western Pennsylvania with local and regional news, as well as national news and entertainment programs from NPR, PRI, PRX and more.