Lecture on Energy and How Arkansas Can Make a Difference

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to host John Waters B.S.M.E.'83, president of Waters & Associates, on the University of Arkansas campus at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in MEEG 217. 

During Waters' visit, he will present his work and research titled "Energy: the Past, Present, and Future, and How an Arkansas Alum Can Make a Difference, Forever," an overview of energy and its path to sustainability for planet earth. Cost-effective and sustainable energy drives the prosperity for all nations. Today, over 1.5 billion people do not have access to the electrical grid or petroleum supply to power their homes or transport goods. Expanding century-old, infrastructure-intense energy solutions are cost prohibitive and will take decades to finance and implement. John will present how the energy efficiency lessons learned from the automotive industry directly apply to the future in sustainable and cost-effective energy systems for the 21st and 22nd Centuries. Regardless of educational background and training, the world needs "systems thinking" solution-makers embarking on the coming revolution in sustainable energy. 

This exciting presentation will be held on Friday, 14 September from 1:00 PM to 2 PM in the Mechanical Engineering Building, room 217.

President of Waters & Associates, John Waters is an entrepreneurial and business development professional with over 25 years in energy, enterprise solutions, sustainability, strategic planning, and transportation.

He is currently engaged with multiple global sustainability projects in Africa, China, and across the US. Waters is a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute and currently serves as the CTO for Energy Systems Network, a non-profit "think and do" tank.

In 2008, Waters was founding CEO and vice chairman of Bright Automotive Inc. — an automaker developing a 100 MPG van for the commercial fleet sector. Bright formed investment partnerships with Duke Energy and General Motors and had over $20 million in purchase orders for their product.

Prior to leading Bright, Waters was vice president of transportation at Rocky Mountain Institute, where he established the consulting practice and provided energy efficiency solutions for Fortune 100 companies. 

Prior to the institute, he led a joint venture with Delphi and was vice president of business development for EnerDel Inc. As manager of product engineering at Delphi Corporation (2001-2004), Waters was responsible for the design, testing and production of multiple lithium battery products, including certified solutions for the iBot and Segway. 

Prior to Delphi, Waters worked for GM where he led numerous projects, including the invention of battery packs for GM's first electric vehicles, GM's EV1, and Electric S-10. Waters holds nine U.S. patents, two international patents, two defensive papers in battery pack designs, and has received numerous industry awards.