GE offers to buy Alstom energy businesses

Days in the making, GE announced this $13.5B deal today to acquire Alstom energy businesses. Alstom would continue to focus in rail transport. Read announcements from GE, from Alstom.

April 28-May 2: Air Quality Awareness Week in Georgia!

In southern U.S., Georgia Commute Options celebrates Air Quality Week from April 28 to May 2.
Check this newsletter for details. Also, enter this Facebook contest for the best 'Me Time' story by telling your best enjoyable activity you would do if you were not spending time commuting.

(image credit gacommuteoptions.com)

April 30: GA Tech Clean Energy Speakers: The Growing Information Intensity of Energy

Register here to attend in person or via webcast.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT

 
The axiom 'If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Manage It' is destined to become increasingly relevant as organizations and individuals want to know more about the costs, attributes and effects of the energy they consume.   Numerous reference points for the intersection of energy and IT industries exist and are increasing.    Examples include:  Nest learning thermostats, ‘smart’ meters on buildings, near real-time energy monitoring, and embedded sensors and networked devices for command, control and monitoring.

Underneath these emerging applications basic questions exist about value and impact of the data and information.  Does actionable information change corporate decision-making or individual behavior?  How?  What ROI’s are achievable?

Plan to join this timely discussion on the increasingly important role of information and energy.

Peter C. Evans, Vice President, Center for Global Enterprise

As Vice President at the Center for Global Enterprise (CGE), Peter is responsible for the Center’s research agenda, global academic partnerships and CEO Exchanges.

Previously, Peter held key strategy and market intelligence roles at General Electric. He was Director of GE Corporate's Global Strategy and Analytics team.  He also led GE Energy's Global Strategy and Planning team for five years, where he oversaw the Fuels, Policy, Carbon and Strategic Workforce Planning Centers of Excellence.  Prior to joining GE, he was Director, Global Oil, and Research Director of the Global Energy Forum at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA).

His many articles and policy monographs include: The Age of Gas and the Power of Networks (General Electric 2013); The Industrial Internet: Pushing the Boundaries of Minds and Machines (General Electric, 2012) Japan: Bracing for an Uncertain Energy Future (Brookings Institution, 2006), Liberalizing Global Trade in Energy Services (AEI Press, 2002).

Peter holds a BA from Hampshire College and a master degree and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sameer Vittal, Manager – Advanced Analytics, Power Generation Services, GE Power & Water

Sameer is the Engineering Manager for Advanced Analytics at the Power Generation Services division of GE Power & Water. He has been with GE since 2000 and leads a global team of data scientists responsible for developing data-analytics based technologies to monitor and optimize the performance, risk and health of gas turbine power plants. In addition to gas turbines, he has extensive experience in developing analytics solutions for renewable energy, primarily wind turbines.

Sameer has more than 17 years of experience in analytics, predictive modeling, optimization, reliability engineering, condition monitoring and risk management in the automotive and energy industries. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences with an interest in actuarial engineering – an emerging risk management field that integrates techniques from engineering, operations research and actuarial science.

Sameer has a BE in mechanical engineering from Bangalore University as well as MS and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

John Bracey, President, Skye Energy

Skye Energy allows commercial building owners to transform scattered building data into clear efficiency projects and ongoing tracking of performance.  Leveraging a cloud based energy analysis platform, a building’s details can be analyzed by marketplace experts to find, build, and implement projects, bringing significantly lower effort and costs, better ideas, and higher volume of sales to the efficiency market.

Prior to founding Skye Energy, John spent over 10 years conducting technical energy analysis on commercial buildings, training architects and engineers on how to build better buildings.  He has spoken at numerous industry conferences on best practices.

John holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Participants can attend for free in person at the Centergy Building on Georgia Tech's campus or via Webinar.
For more information and to register for this program, visit www.secleanenergy.gatech.edu


The Connected Vehicle Hackathon, Redwood City CA, This Weekend

If you are in the Bay Area this weekend, check it out! (Register here)

THE CONNECTED VEHICLE HACKATHON

The Connected Vehicle —

Throughout history, the global automotive industry has reinvented itself again and again, but today, the industry is currently undergoing a revolutionary and unprecedented transformation. The future of the connected vehicle is that of one where there is a wholesale decrease of accidents, more efficient ways of traveling, a significant reduction in terms of emissions generated and a reduction in overall commute time.
 
Whether it’s the expanded application of automotive electronics, intelligent smart systems improving convenience and safety to provide an optimal driving environment and comfort, and new infotainment systems as telematics, the automotive industry is actually undergoing one of its biggest transformation in decades. 
 
We’re looking to explore the next frontier in form of the connected vehicle. Specifically, we’re looking to explore:
 
•Short term connected technologies in existing vehicles
•The future of autonomous vehicles and smart sensors
•New business models for helping consumers commute more efficiently
•The impact of social in vehicular transportation 
•Sustainability and vehicle performance
NestGSV is collaborating with Ann Arbor Spark, as teams from Michigan and California will compete for prizes. There will be a 24-hour connected feed between the two sites.