 Ed Glab, director, Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management; Carmen Algeciras (MIB ’03, BA ’01), director, USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program; Greg Manuel, Department of State energy advisor, and George Philippidis, associate director of the university’s Applied Research Center. |
On December 4, 2007, Greg Manuel, Department of State energy advisor to Condoleezza Rice, met with members of the college’s Energy Business Forum (EBF)—part of its Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management—to learn more about the Forum’s activities.
“He asked to meet with us because of our growing recognition for work in the areas of biofuels and energy security in the Americas,” said Carmen Algeciras, director, John Ogonowski Farmer-to-Farmer (FTF) program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is part of the Knight Ridder Center.
She said Manuel is in Miami because of the Caribbean Central American Action Conference this week (during which the Knight Ridder Center will present a panel discussion) and requested to meet with the college’s Energy Business Forum’s staff to learn more about its activities. The Forum has received considerable international recognition for its work in this area, thanks, in part, to its events with General Motors, Exxon Mobil, and other organizations focusing on energy security and diversity.
“We have established relationships with other members of the Department of State and have been collaborating with them on a number of activities, including trips by Dr. George Philippidis, co-director of the EBF, to educate governments in the region about biofuels.” Philippidis has made trips to El Salvador, Honduras, and St. Kitts to promote biofuels.
The visit included a meeting with EBF personnel and the Applied Research Center staff, focusing specifically on energy security through the pursuit of alternative transportation fuels, including the latest in ethanol research, hydrogen research, and biomass gasification systems. It also dealt with some of the Forum’s future activities, including its international Energy Business Forum on “Biofuels in the Americas,” scheduled for January 24, 2008. Visit https://www.fiu.edu/ to learn more about this important meeting next month.
