The Stanford Energy Seminar has been a mainstay of energy engagement at Stanford for nearly 20 years and is one of the flagship programs of the Precourt Institute for Energy. We aim to bring a wide variety of perspectives to the Stanford community – academics, entrepreneurs, utilities, non-profits, and more. 

Talk Abstract

The energy landscape is in the midst of experiencing monumental changes: unprecedented load growth due to data centers and electrification paired with increasing renewables and storage deployment, all placed upon aging or outdated infrastructure. The need for coherent strategies and solutions has never been greater. Amidst these technological uncertainties, how should we be best investing our time, resources, and effort to maximize impact and accelerate progress? This is the mission of STEER—focusing on the intersection of engineering, economics, and innovation to guide “what to build, where to innovate, and how to invest.” STEER focuses on five key “analytical horizontals” — supply chains, technology, deployment, economic feasibility, and energy systems. These cut across various technology verticals — energy storage, nuclear, carbon capture, and more.

Founded just 2 years ago with support from multiple offices within the Department of Energy, STEER is redefining how industry, government, and academia can strategize and then mobilize in coordinated fashion. Leveraging the unique convening power of Stanford, STEER deeply engages industry input via an integrative feedback loop to highlight the right questions to ask and answer. This flywheel approach is central to ensuring industrial relevance and cutting-edge insights from practitioners. In this talk, Sally and Adrian will highlight several case studies of the STEER approach, how that is already translating into tangible impact, and how you can get involved.

Speaker Bios 

Sally Benson is the Precourt Family Professor in the Department of Energy Science Engineering at Stanford University. Since joining Stanford in 2007, her research has focused on technologies and pathways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including geologic storage of CO₂ in deep formations and energy systems analysis for a low-carbon future.
From 2021 to 2023, Benson served at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as Energy Division Director and Chief Strategist for the Energy Transition. At Stanford, she previously directed the Global Climate and Energy Project (2009–2019), the Precourt Institute for Energy (2013–2020), and co-directed both the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage and the Stanford Carbon Removal Initiative. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, including Division Director for Earth Sciences, Associate Lab Director for Energy Sciences, and Deputy Director.
Benson is a member of the Breakthrough Energy Innovation Council and serves on the board of the Global CCS Institute. In 2023, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has advised national laboratories, universities, and organizations worldwide, and contributed to numerous National Academy, DOE, and National Petroleum Council assessments on carbon management.

Adrian Yao is the Founder and Team Lead of STEER, a DOE-funded initiative at Stanford's Precourt Institute for Energy and SLAC. Prior to Stanford, Adrian spent 8 years in industry as the Founder and CTO of a Li-ion battery startup, EnPower, Inc., where he continues to serve as a board director. After having developed EnPower's technology from lab to pilot and validated performance gains with OEMs and cell makers, EnPower is now scaling domestic cell manufacturing in a multi-MWh manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, IN, spearheading the domestic production of Li-ion cells for high-performance applications. Adrian obtained his B.S. in Material Science & Engineering from Rice University in Houston, TX and is simultaneously pursuing his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering at Stanford. Adrian is originally born in Houston, TX but spent the majority of his childhood in Taipei, Taiwan prior to returning to the U.S. in 2010.

Anyone with an interest in energy is welcome to join! You can enjoy seminars in the following ways:

• Attend live. The auditorium may change quarter by quarter, so check each seminar event to confirm the location. Explore the current quarter's schedule.
• Watch live in a browser livestream if available. Check each seminar event for its unique livestream URL.
• Watch recordings of past seminars 
  • Available on the Past Energy Seminars page and the Energy Seminars playlist of the Stanford Energy YouTube channel
• (For students) Take the seminar as a 1-unit class (CEE 301/ENERGY 301/MS&E 494)

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