The AGI Advisory Board met following AGI Industry Day
On August 31, six members of the Industry Advisory Board (IAB) met with the Institute co-directors on the WSU Tri-Cities campus to discuss the current activities and future direction of the AGI. The IAB discussed their thoughts related to emerging opportunities for AGI, pressing challenges for their organizations, and feedback on AGI Industry Day 2023.
Members noted that guiding principles for core areas of research focus should be well-defined, with metrics to quantify the alignment between the ongoing portfolio of projects and high-priority areas of research. For example, much of the AGI work is associated with project opportunities driven by our collective clients’ interests. AGI Co-Directors were encouraged to add additional focus on activities that leverage the core strengths of the AGI, while also solving broader societal objectives. For instance, ensuring reliability and resilience spanning electricity transmission & distribution while enhancing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the broader energy infrastructure transition to a decarbonized society. Identifying opportunities for collaborative funding in these key areas should be prioritized.
Another area of needed emphasis is training the future engineering workforce to effectively tackle these challenges. This is an area where blending the University and National Laboratory environments could be leveraged to a greater extent. Opportunities to enhance the various programs available in this area were discussed. Other intriguing questions: what can we do to foster more opportunities for leadership among mid-career professionals in industry? And what skillsets do we collectively need as a society during this clean energy transition that we currently lack?
The IAB asked whether the future composition of the advisory board should include additional members representing regions beyond the Northwest area. Because the mission statement of the AGI is broader in scope, does the IAB adequately represent these perspectives? It was also noted that the IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting will be in Seattle in July of 2024 providing a platform for AGI projects to be showcased.
The IAB unanimously recommended that AGI Industry Day be conducted again in August 2024. They felt that the direction is good, the institute is adding value, and there will be ongoing and growing interest in the AGI from a variety of stakeholders going forward, and that this year’s meeting should be repeated with suggestions for enhancing the technical program.
Following the board meeting, some members of the IAB toured the PNNL Grid Storage Launchpad currently under construction. The next meeting of the IAB will be in December.
