The ENDEAVOR Seminar Series
The ENDEAVOR Research Cluster initiative within the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis focuses on research in the energy, defense, and AgTech industries. In 2022-23, ENDEAVOR will host a seminar series featuring industry subject experts in these areas.
“Trends and Needs in the Modernization of the Energy and AgriTech Sectors”
The energy and agriculture sectors are increasingly complex and connected. The need to reduce carbon emissions and provide resilience in response to changing conditions requires significant change to current practice. This seminar series presents overviews of the latest research and technology from national leaders and provides an opportunity to discuss the future implications for their work.
2022-23 Series Schedule and Speaker Profiles
Series Contact
Fall, 2022 - Spring, 2023 SPEAKER INTRODUCTION
*Each talk has a university host, who is a faculty member in a connected area of research. The use of hosts is intended to foster collaborative connections for university departments and faculty. Hosts will work with the presenter to ensure they have everything needed for the presentation and will moderate the presentation, including starting the meeting, introducing the speaker, and moderating the Q&A sessions after the presentation.
Per F. Peterson, Ph.D., PE | Wednesday, October 5, 2022 | Fluoride High Temperature Reactor Development for Near-Term
Commercial Deployment | Register here.
An update on current progress at Kairos Power and the important roles that the national laboratories and universities played in developing the scientific and technical foundations for the next generation of nuclear reactors.
University of Memphis Host: Dr. Louis Qualls, Director ENDEAVOR, FedEx Institute of Technology
Chris Ramezanpour, President and Co-founder of Secure Food Solutions | Monday, October 19, 2022 | How Secure Food Solutions is addressing the increased risk of human pathogenic diseases from climate change | Register here.
Secure Food Solutions is a food safety diagnostics company based in Memphis, Tennessee that is currently developing rapid diagnostics to detect dangerous pathogens that threaten global food supply chains. SFS has two key biotech innovations: (1) Rapid microbial tests for fast, simple, low-cost detection of Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, etc.; and (2) Fast, simple, affordable imaging technologies for farm families in Sub Saharan Africa to detect and remove aflatoxin-contaminated foods, like peanuts, corn and cassava (aflatoxin is a dangerous fungal carcinogen responsible for critically high rates of child mortality and stunting in SSA).
Mr. Ramezanpour is the Principal Investigator for NSF-funded R&D to develop the rapid Salmonellatest. Mr. Ramezanpour earned his Master's degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2008. For two decades, Mr. Ramezanpour has worked closely with farmers, researchers, government agencies, nonprofits, and international institutions on food and agriculture-related issues in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa. If you have any questions want to ask Chris, please contact him at chris.ramezanpour@secure-food-solutions.com
David L. Page, Ph.D. | Wednesday, November 16, 2022 | Geospatial Data and its use | Register here.
University of Memphis Host: Dr. Brian Waldron, Director, Center for Applied Earth Sciences and Research (CAESAR)
Tim Theiss | Wednesday, December 14, 2022 | Energy Potentials of Biomass for Replacing Transportation Fuels and Carbon Sequestration | Register here.
University of Memphis Host: Dr. Shawn Brown, Biological Sciences Department
Ben Carmichael | Wednesday, February 15, 2023 | Decarbonation Strategies for the Grid-Scale Electricity Market | Register here.
University of Memphis Host: Dr. Alex Headley, Mechanical Engineering Department
Avat Shekoofa, Ph.D. | Wednesday, March 15, 2023 | Better crops for worse days | Register here.
University of Memphis Host: Dr. Jennifer Mandell, Biological Sciences Department
Johney Green Jr., Ph.D. | Wednesday, April 19, 2023 | Emerging Trends in Renewable Energy | Register here.
University of Memphis Host: Dr. Hasan Ali, Mechanical Engineering Department
Doug Kothe, Ph.D. | Wednesday, May 17, 2023 | Exascale Computing and Beyond | Register here.
University of Memphis Host: Mechanical Engineering Department