Newswise — COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Identifying the top energy challenges facing our nation and designing a path forward for enabling the research needed to solve those challenges will be the focus of the 2012 Public and Land-Grant University Conference on Energy Challenges.

This national conference takes place April 29-May 1 at Ohio State’s Blackwell Inn, 2110 Tuttle Park Place. It is in partnership with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and Colorado State University, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act. The conference brings together national leaders in higher education, government and industry to identify the top energy challenges over the next 50 years.

Keynote speakers include Norm Augustine, former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, Sen. Rob Portman, U.S. Senator, Ohio and Arun Majumdar, Under-Secretary of Energy and director of the U.S. Dept. of Energy ARPA-E program.

For details of the conference: go.osu.edu/energy2012

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