My job search has begun in earnest.  Thus far, I’ve had interviews with National Instruments and Oncor Electric Delivery.  I found the interview with Oncor more two-way in that they were able to relate to some of the things I talked about, like reducing email overhead and wishing that I had my degree when hurricane Ike hit (because then I could be in one of those convoys heading towards Houston to help bring power back to the area).

I woke up at 6 in the morning on Thursday to go to Professor Mack Grady’s renewable energy workshop.  I sat right next to the person I interviewed with, and I was one of the only undergrads at the conference during that time.  I really wished a proctor swapped shifts with me because then I could stay for the entire conference, but I still got a good bit during the two hours of talks.  In particular:

• Wind generation capacity is currently outpacing transmission capacity.
• If we were to plot the oil we used between years 0 and 2500 CE, oil would look like a small blip in history.  Being a finite resource, this emphasizes the importance of seeking alternative means to power our world.
• Plug-in hybrids and “smart grids” received mentions.