Day 1 wrap-up: collaboration and innovation

Day 1 of the Missouri Energy Summit is now in the books. Starting with the folksy keynote from billionaire T. Boone Pickens and throughout the day, speaker after speaker after speaker talked about two big issues that need to be addressed in order to meet our nation's energy challenges:

1. Collaboration. Most of the speakers talked about the need to build networks of energy resource companies, government, academia and others to address the issues of energy.
2. Innovation. Technological development will be critical for addressing our energy woes. This should come as no surprise, since Missouri's land-grant research university is hosting the event, and Missouri S&T -- the UM System's technological research university -- is doing so much energy-related research across the board.
   

A third point many of the speakers made was that no single solution will address the enormous scale and immediacy of our energy situation. Perhaps Dan Cole, the senior vice president of AmerenUE, put it best when he said during his presentation, "We're not looking for that silver bullet, we're looking for that silver buckshot." He was talking specifically about finding the right technology to address carbon reduction issues, but the same principle applies to all aspects of energy research.

In total, the Day 1 speakers laid the groundwork for Thursday's research presentations. Day 2 of the Missouri Energy Summit will feature dozens of paper presentations that will show what Missouri S&T and the other University of Missouri campuses are doing to collaborate, innovate and attack the nation's energy issues from all angles.

We'll try to post updates here and on Twitter as much as possible during Day 2. But we'll also be staffing the Missouri S&T booth during much of the event. You can always check the web for Twitter updates (hashtage: #moenergysummit).

Media wrapup:

• Oilman touts alternative energy at Mo. summit (Alan Zagier, Associated Press, in the Houston Chronicle)
• T. Boone Pickens talks oil independence (Janese Heavin, Columbia Daily Tribune)
• Summit on energy (KOMU)
• Experts lend poweer to event (Janese Heavin, Columbia Daily Tribune)