Harvard University Professor to Discuss Climate and Innovation at O.T. Hayward Distinguished Lecture Series
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WACO, Texas (April 3, 2018) – Baylor University’s department of geosciences will host Daniel P. Schrag, Ph.D., Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and director of Harvard University Center for the Environment, for the O.T. Hayward Distinguished Lecture Series. Schrag will present his lecture, “Energy, Climate and Innovation,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in Room D110 of the Baylor Sciences Building, 101 Bagby Ave.
“There has been a growing realization that the world’s energy technologies have led to a series of environmental challenges, including local and regional issues of air and water pollution, and the global challenge of climate change,” Schrag said.
“These environmental challenges have driven many to call for an energy transition to new technologies, including renewable sources such as wind and solar. At the same time, the world remains firmly reliant on fossil energy sources, with no end in sight to sustained demand, particularly for oil and natural gas. I will discuss the history of energy technology and review the energy systems of the world to understand possible trajectories in the future of energy technology in the context of a changing climate,” he said.
Schrag’s research focuses on geochemical oceanography, stable isotope geochemistry, paleoclimatology, climate change, carbon sequestration and energy technology. He studies climate and climate change over the broadest range of Earth history and has examined changes in ocean circulation over the last several decades.
“We will examine the different timescales of climate change, and what it is likely to mean for current and future generations,” Schrag said. “A variety of strategies will be discussed for meeting the world’s energy needs, preserving economic prosperity and security, while protecting human and natural systems from climate impacts. We also will explore what strategies might be required if the impacts of climate change are larger than we expect.”
Schrag also helped develop the Snowball Earth hypothesis, proposing that a series of global glaciations occurred between 750 and 580 million years ago that may have led to the evolution of multicellular animals. Currently he is working with economists and engineers on technological approaches to mitigating future climate change.
“Schrag is an exceptionally creative scientist, even as he expands his focus to include energy technology and policy,” said Jay Pulliam, Ph.D., W.M. Keck Foundation Professor of Geophysics at Baylor. “We are lucky to receive an extended visit to Baylor by Dr. Schrag in which he will talk about both these topics: ‘Energy, Climate and Innovation’ in a public lecture and ‘Geochemical Dynamics of Atmospheric Oxygen’ in a more specialized seminar for the geosciences department.”
Schrag received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1988 and his Ph.D. in geology from University of California at Berkeley in 1993. He has received several honors, including the James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union, Katherine K. Walker Prize in Political Science from Yale and the Frank M. Patterson Prize in Political Science from Yale.
For more information, visit the Geosciences website.
by Brooke Battersby, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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