Future of Energy Forum connects Tulane research, industry and the next generation of energy leaders

Energy, in the simplest terms, depends on connections. Resources must be connected to the infrastructure needed to produce energy. Supply chains must be linked to the materials that make that infrastructure possible, and power plants, pipelines and electrical grids must be joined to the homes and businesses that rely on them.

As energy demands and technologies shift, the future of energy also relies on a different sort of connection between researchers, industry leaders, policymakers and students who will decide what comes next.

This was the backdrop for the third annual Tulane Future of Energy Forum, themed “Connected Power: Connecting Leaders. Powering Progress.”

Across the final three days of September, the second floor of the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life was abuzz as 2,000 attendees heard from high-profile panelists across sectors and industries.

“As a major research university located in one of the world’s most significant energy regions, Tulane is uniquely positioned to advance answers to these questions,” Tulane President Michael A. Fitts said as he opened the forum on Monday, Sept. 28. “Every day, our students and faculty are working to do just that. We launched this forum to grow our impact even more, building stronger connections and shaping consequential conversations across the energy ecosystem.”

A panel on nuclear energy explored the opportunities and obstacles of implementing a new class of smaller reactors. Other panels focused on sustainability initiatives such as “next-generation” geothermal energy. Instead of requiring underground thermal springs, new techniques could pump fluids underground, which are then naturally heated before returning to the surface to deliver energy.  

“It’s hot everywhere underground,” said Drew Nelson, vice president of programs, policy and strategy at Project InnerSpace. “When you make the shift to the hot rock being the resource rather than the hot water, geothermal can be deployed almost anywhere on Earth in some capacity.”  

The forum’s more than 40 sessions examined many of the forces reshaping the energy landscape, from growing electricity demand and grid-scale batteries to critical minerals, carbon storage and the future of oil and gas.

From state issues such as the expansion of Louisiana’s liquefied natural gas exports to global topics such as how artificial intelligence can unlock more efficient energy grids, the forum served as a conduit for thought leaders to ask and answer questions facing energy systems.  

Dee Martin, a partner at Bracewell, a leading energy law firm, said the forum comes at an important moment for the national energy conversation. Martin moderated a panel titled “Energy and Elections: How Midterms Shape Policy and Markets.”  

“The Tulane Future of Energy Forum arrives at a pivotal moment, as rising demand, technological innovation and economic opportunity accelerate the national energy conversation,” Martin said. “By convening policymakers, industry and community leaders, academics and students, the forum not only meets the moment but also helps define it. Louisiana’s longstanding energy leadership makes Tulane an ideal place for this discussion.”  

Tulane’s work in the energy space is part of a broader university effort to move ideas from discovery toward practical use.  

One such example is the Genesis Mission, a national initiative to harness artificial intelligence for breakthroughs in energy dominance, discovery science and national security. Tulane was among a small group selected from 5,000 proposals to receive Phase I proof-of-concept funding for its project from the U.S. Department of Energy.

On a panel with GENESIS team members Jianwei Sun, a professor of physics and engineering physics at the Tulane School of Science and Engineering, and Daniel Straus, an assistant professor of chemistry at the School of Science and Engineering, Microsoft Vice President of Energy and Resources Darryl Willis emphasized the importance of collaborations in solving the energy problems of tomorrow.  

“The thing that keeps me up at night in 2026 is that there’s still 750 million people on the planet who do not have access to energy,” Willis said. “Ultimately, we believe that every problem requires partnerships. Microsoft working with an oil and gas company or working with a university like Tulane, we can get way more done together than we can as any individual entity.”

This year’s forum also came at a time when Tulane is increasing its investment in energy research and education with the hope of developing breakthrough innovations and preparing students for careers across a variety of energy applications.

The university has added energy-focused offerings in the Tulane Law School’s Energy Law & Policy Center, the School of Science and Engineering and the A. B. Freeman School of Business, which has seen surging interest in its Master of Management in Energy program.  

While moderating the forum’s second-day keynote address, Freeman School Dean Paulo Goes highlighted the course as an example of how Tulane is preparing students for every facet of energy production.  

“As you saw from the sessions here, energy management is about business decisions,” Goes said. “We take that very seriously and have an energy management program that not many universities have, and we’re very proud of that. With 100% placement, all of our students get jobs after we teach them the business of the energy industry.”  

In addition to attending the panel discussions, students were also able to network with energy leaders by taking part in career mixers. The forum offered an opportunity to explore potential career paths, expand their understanding of complex energy challenges and build relationships that extend beyond the classroom.

“I think it’s great that Tulane puts on this forum,” said Honor Louthan, a sophomore majoring in political science and mathematics in the School of Liberal Arts and the School of Science and Engineering. “With all the issues surrounding AI, data centers and pollution, if there was ever a time we need something like this, it’s now.”