UW News

January 18, 2001

MEDIA ADVISORY: EXPERTS LIST — University of Washington has sources for stories on the West’s electric power drain

A number of University of Washington sources can help reporters put the current energy situation in perspective, both in terms of short-term issues and long-term effects.

NOTE: This page is available online and will be updated with new information and resources. It is at http://www.washington.edu/newsroom/energy

Climate change/weather
Philip Mote, research scientist, UW-based Climate Impacts Group, (206) 616-5346; Pager: (206) 994-6945, e-mail: philip@atmos.washington.edu
Mote can talk about the Climate Impacts Group’s study showing that climate change will mean less winter snowpack and earlier spring runoff in coming years, with serious implications for hydroelectric generation.

Cliff Mass, professor, atmospheric sciences, (206) 685-0910, e-mail: cliff@atmos.washington.edu
Mass is an expert on local weather and can discuss implications of temperature and precipitation for near-term electric use and generation.

History
Bruce Hevly, associate professor, history of science and technology, (206) 543-9417, e-mail: bhevly@u.washington.edu
Hevly can discuss how, through history, new energy sources, from coal and gasoline to nuclear and wind, have never quite lived up to expectations, particularly in terms of cost and supply.

Energy conservation design
Joel Loveland, associate professor, architecture and urban planning, (206) 616-5720, e-mail: loveland@u.washington.edu
Loveland teaches courses in daylighting design, and he works at the Northwest Lighting Design Laboratory.

Dean Heerwagen, associate professor, architecture and urban planning (206) 543-2334, e-mail: deanh@u.washington.edu
Heerwagen teaches courses on environmental control systems and has done energy research on buildings; he was among those whose work led to the state energy/building performance codes. See http://depts.washington.edu/archdept/welcome_arch/creative/research/research_heerwagen.html

Marietta Millet, professor emeritus, architecture and urban planning, (206) 543-3043, e-mail: millet@u.washington.edu
Millet specializes in lighting inside buildings. She recently wrote a book called “Light Revealing Architecture.” She now makes her home in California but will respond to messages left at the Seattle number.

Economics/energy supply
Chen-Ching Liu, professor, electrical engineering; associate engineering dean; (206) 543-2198, e-mail: liu@ee.washington.edu
Liu has worked with Jacques Lawarree for four years on power system economics; he can discuss both the engineering and economic aspects of the issue.

Jacques Lawarree, professor, economics; (206) 543-5632, e-mail: lawarree@u.washington.edu
NOTE: Lawarree has a particularly tight schedule currently, so e-mail is the easiest way to reach him.
Lawarree has worked with Chen-Ching Liu for four years on power system economics. He can discuss both the engineering and economic aspects of the issue. Lawarree in recent years has focused on issues of electric utility deregulation.

Richard Christie, associate professor, electrical engineering; (206) 543-9689, e-mail: christie@ee.washington.edu
NOTE: e-mail is best for complex questions.
Christie can discuss causes of the current energy shortage in the West, how power systems are set up and interact, and the short-term outlook for prices (high for two to three years if there is not a lot of rain). He also can discuss technical feasibility and costs, and can comment on social, political and economic consequences of the current situation.

Alan Hess, finance and business economics professor, (206) 543-4579, e-mail: hess@u.washington.edu
Hess can discuss deregulation and its impact on financial markets.

Edward Rice, finance and business economics associate professor, (206) 543-4480, e-mail: erice@u.washington.edu
Rice can discuss utility deregulation in terms of utility bonds and access to capital markets.


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