Energy @ Booth

Energy is a hot subject (pun entirely intended) pursued by students at Chicago Booth. Below are a couple of descriptions of recent activities around energy our students have gotten involved in:


Alternative Energy Conference - by Aaron Ketter

Today the Booth Energy Group hosted the 2009 Alternative Energy Conference. The conference was held in advance of the Booth Midwest Alternative Energy Venture Forum (MAEVF), allowing students the opportunity to interact and learn from clean tech entrepreneurs. The event commenced with an opening speech from Michael Polsky, CEO of Invenergy LLC, commenting on the challenges and future of alternative energy development. The morning and afternoon sessions showcased seven business plans highlighting the latest thoughts and technology within the power generation and energy efficiencies sectors. After each presentation, the students were posed with the challenge of providing feedback from a venture capitalist perspective. Booth students did not disappoint, often asking many direct and challenging questions. At the end of the day, the entrepreneurs were given a new perspective before presenting at the MAEVF and the Booth students gained valuable insight into the intricacies of presenting a business plan and securing funding.


Energy Trek - by Caroline Gardner

Last week, the Energy Group traveled to Houston to meet with companies in the traditional and renewable energy space. The list of companies with whom we met was remarkable, but even more impressive was the chance to meet some new Boothies.

I met most of the group for the first time on the way to the airport. We become quick friends, in part because four of us were squished into the backseat of a cab, but mainly because every person was personable and unique.

Everyone in the group had worked in some area of the energy sector, but me. Rather than talking around my head using industry specific jargon, the folks squashed next to me offered their expertise in their respective sectors to me so I could learn about the industry as a whole.

On the surface this sounds like it would be informative. It turned out to be amazing. I learned about financing a power plant in Dubai, manufacturing oil drilling equipment in Texas, working on an offshore oil rig in China, and designing earthquake resistant power structures in Nevada.

Every day I am constantly amazed by the amount of knowledge and experience my colleagues have and are willing to share with me.