Seminar: Energy Choices and Consequences

Abstract:

With the world's population approaching nine billion by the year 2040, achieving a healthy lifestyle for all people on earth will depend, in part, on the availability of affordable energy, especially electricity.  This presentation addresses the various options for producing and using electricity, and the consequences associated with each option.  The options include fossil, renewables, nuclear, and conservation.  All energy options are needed, but some options may be better than others when compared in the following areas: economics, environmental effects, public health and safety, sustainability, and politics.

Bio:

Dr. H. L. (Lee) Dodds is IBM Professor of Engineering and Department Head, Emeritus, in the University of Tennessee Nuclear Engineering (UTNE) Department.  He joined UTNE in 1976 after working for the DuPont Company at the Savannah River Laboratory for six years.  He began serving as UTNE Department Head in early 1997 and retired in December 2011.  He also previously worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Dr. Dodds earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in nuclear engineering at UT.  He has served as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Energy and several American, Canadian, and Dutch research institutes and companies.  He currently serves on the External Advisory Boards for the nuclear engineering programs at The Ohio State University and Virginia Commonwealth University.  He is also a past member of the Accreditation Board of the National Academy for Nuclear Training, which is part of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, a current member of the National Board of Directors of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), and a past member of the National Board of Directors of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).  Dr. Dodds has received many awards including the ANS Arthur Holly Compton National Teaching Award.  He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Tennessee and a Fellow of ANS.

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