UMaine to Host Haskell Conference on Energy, Smart Grid
ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine will host the Haskell/IEEE Conference from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 24, at Wells Conference Center on the UMaine campus.
The conference, “Smart Grid: Consumer and Utility Perspectives,” is focused on the opportunities, benefits, challenges and visions associated with the addition of new information technology to the power grid, and how these enhancements make the power grid “smart.”
The event will offer discussions featuring representatives of utility companies including Bangor Hydro Electric Company and Central Maine Power, a state legislator, and researchers in academia and the private sector. The morning session will offer definitions of the Smart Grid and consumer perspectives. The afternoon will focus on the utility perspective.
During the morning session John McDonald, the director of technical strategy and policy development for General Electric Energy’s Digital Energy business, will offer a talk entitled “National Smart Grid Road Map and Need for Standards.” Patty Durand, the executive director of the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative, will follow McDonald with a talk, “Consumer Segmentation 101: Creating a Marketing and Education Strategy.”
Rep. John Hinck, who is serving his third term in the Maine House of Representatives representing part of the city of Portland and is now House Minority Lead of the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, will offer a talk, “Setting Coordinates for a Maine Smart Grid Roadmap.”
Mohamad Musavi, the chair of electrical and computer engineering, and Dana Humphrey, dean of the College of Engineering, will be among those participants representing UMaine.
The conference is designed for industry and state government personnel, students, researchers, consultants, and the public. Participants can receive up to eight Professional Development hours toward the state’s professional engineering educational requirement.
The Haskell/IEEE Conference is funded with support from the Haskell Professorship in UMaine’s electrical and computer engineering department and the Maine IEEE Chapter of the Power & Energy Society.
Robert N. Haskell graduated from UMaine in 1925 and was the former president and chair of the Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. He also served in the Maine House of Representatives and Maine Senate. In 1959, Haskell served as governor for six days after Edmund Muskie resigned to take his seat in the U.S. Senate.
For more information about the Haskell/IEEE Conference, call 207-581-2243.
Contact: Mohamad Musavi, 207-581-2243 or mohamad.musavi@umit.maine.edu; Jessica Bloch, 207-581-3777 or jessica.bloch@umit.maine.edu