NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – On Friday, Nov 22, representatives from Tulsa-based energy company Williams, board members of the University of Oklahoma Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy and leadership and students from OU’s Sustainable Energy Systems program task force gathered to celebrate the ribbon cutting and open house tours of the new Williams Office Suite for Sustainable Energy.
This transformative addition to Sarkeys Energy Center on the OU campus will serve as a hub for collaborative research, innovation and learning, enriching the experience of all students and fostering future energy leaders.
“Energy powers everything. And the reality is if you have this certificate and you’re in any one of the 16 colleges here, you are now more marketable and, importantly for us and society, you can make the work you do have more impact,” said University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz, Jr. at the event.
The first-class space, named for Williams’ generous donation to the office suite, spans two floors in the Sarkeys Energy Center, providing approximately 2,000 square feet of communal gathering and office space for students, faculty and staff in the program.
“At Williams, we're doing a lot of great things outside of natural gas with our new energy ventures. We’re really excited to have this program here and for the University of Oklahoma to add to the graduates’ river of opportunity that they have coming out of this great university,” Micheal Dunn, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Williams, in remarks at the event.
John Antonio, Ph.D., dean of the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy, said the first floor will provide space for 15 sustainable energy systems postdoctoral fellows, doctoral students and undergraduate research assistants to conduct research and advance the body of knowledge and practice in the field. The second floor will house administrative staff and the inaugural director of the program.
More information about the program can be found at ou.edu/mcee/ses.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Starr Minthorn (Kiowa), professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the University of Oklahoma Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, has been elected president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) — becoming the first Indigenous person to hold this role in the organization’s history.
A new study from the University of Oklahoma suggests that small genetic differences in two proteins – previously known for their role in premature infants’ lungs – may also influence how their eyes develop, potentially affecting the risk of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
University of Oklahoma researcher Elizabeth Wellberg, Ph.D., is the senior author of a review article in The Journal of Clinical Investigation that gathers current research evidence about the effects of GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic and Zepbound, on cancer risk.
