A Visit from the Secretary of Energy!

We had the distinct pleasure of hosting the Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, on Thursday. In preparation, I asked our SPA team to prepare a report on our DOE sponsored research portfolio. Spoiler alert—it is stellar! 

Only four other universities in the nation have more DOE-funded research than we do here at Illinois (see Table #60 in the NSF HERD Survey). And I'd be willing to bet that none of them offer the excellence at scale and convergence of expertise, infrastructure, and land (including a rich geological landscape!) that we do. Consider just a few related projects: 

• We lead one of only four Bioenergy Research Centers in the nation, CABBI.
• We help protect the security and resiliency of the nation's energy delivery systems, through CREDC.
• We are home to a quantum-focused Energy Frontiers Research Center, QSQM—and we're engaged in several other EFRCs. 
• Our Carbon Management projects demonstrate how power plants can transition to cleaner operations. 
• Our Materials Research Lab has been developing next-generation energy materials for decades (with funding since the 1960s from the predecessor of the DOE)! 

The list goes on and on: geothermal, nuclear, hydrogen, grid, basic energy science.... I am confident that the Secretary left campus impressed by the breadth and depth of the Illinois research enterprise, as we lead our nation to a bright and sustainable energy future. 

Sincerely,

Susan