I am pleased to have this opportunity to highlight some recent activities of USAEE and plans for the future.

North American Conference

I enjoyed being with so many of you in Calgary.  We were treated to an outstanding set of sessions on many of the key topics of our profession—sessions that define and support excellence in energy economics.  Sessions included ones on emerging energy technologies, energy policy options, renewable energy, natural gas, energy interdependence, climate policy, carbon management, electricity grid and market issues, water, and energy demand, planning, efficiency and R&D.  In addition, I was particularly taken by the many important oil sands issues presented in several sessions throughout the Conference.  For me, our Conferences are a great combination of opportunities for professional and personal interaction in a beautiful setting with excellent food.  I hope they are for you, too.

Students

Our Association especially encourages excellence and engagement of students in energy economics.  This year USAEE awarded the Dennis J. O'Brien USAEE Best Student Paper Award to Kenneth Gillingham of Stanford University.  He assembled and worked with a spectacular data set featuring mileage readings from California smog checks and changes in local gasoline prices to isolate an important estimate of the change in miles driven due to gasoline price.   Three other student papers were Best Paper Award Finalists (papers by Valeria Karplus of MIT, Nicholas Choquette-Levy of the University of Calgary and Howard Chong of Berkeley) and two more student papers received Best Paper awards.  In addition, twenty-seven students were granted Registration Fee Scholarships to attend the Calgary Conference.

Under the direction of This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (The Brattle Group), USAEE is planning to launch an Energy Economics Case Competition—an opportunity for groups of students to respond to a problem in energy economics and have their response judged against others.  This will be yet another way for USAEE to define and encourage excellence in energy economics.

All of these activities are supported by generous contributions to the USAEE Student Support Fund.  Many USAEE members have contributed to this fund as they've renewed their membership or as they've registered for the Conference.  Without these contributions, our support of students could not happen.  Thank you to those members who have contributed!  I encourage all members to consider contributing.

Membership

Association membership is currently USAEE's main area of concern.  There are currently about 890 members of USAEE.  This is down from about 1000 in 2007.  In 2009, under the leadership This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Logistics Management Institute) in the newly-created position of VP Membership, USAEE began a thoughtful effort to diagnose and treat our membership decline.  Efforts have included more contact with members at membership renewal time, concerted efforts to reach out to folks who do not renew, initiating some concrete efforts to invite non-members to join, and continuing to increase the value of membership by, among other things, emailing a USAEE membership directory, initiating a salary survey (watch for your invitation to participate in this important project) and initiating an award for members' work posted in the USAEE Working Papers Series.  Please continue to encourage colleagues who may benefit from USAEE membership to consider joining.

Finances

Our Association is in an enviable financial position.  The Association's aggregate account balances are more than $350,000, and all balances are held at FDIC-insured institutions.  The Association operates with a balanced budget.  A full financial summary of income and expenditures for 2010 will be provided with the next issue of Dialogue in March 2011.  An important feature of our Association's finances is that Council has identified more than $40,000 of our aggregate balances as a "Fund for Association Advancement."  This money is available for use on special projects that are of long-run value to our Association.  Recent projects have included producing a brochure promoting USAEE membership and a face-lift for our website.  Several other projects are in the pipeline and all members are encouraged to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Webinar

USAEE is set to hold its second joint webinar with the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).  The topic is "Natural gas and renewable fuels: Competitors, collaborators or both?"  The webinar will be held at 12 noon Eastern time on Wednesday, December 1, 2010.  The webinar's distinguished panelists are USAEE members John Parsons (MIT), Karen Palmer (RFF) and Doug Arent (NREL), each of whom has done recent work on the relationship between natural gas and renewable fuels.  There will be ample time for Q&A, too.  Watch for coming announcements—and make plans to participate.

Future Conferences

Plans are well under way for our next North American Conference.  It will take place in Washington, DC, October 9-12, 2011.  The abstract submission deadline is May 16, 2011.  I look forward to seeing you there!  Plans have also begun for the 2012 North American Conference to be held in Austin, Texas.  Please contact USAEE Executive Director This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to be involved in planning either of these excellent events.

Executive Director

Since USAEE's founding, USAEE has contracted with Dave Williams, Jr. and Dave Williams, Sr. through their firm (Administrative Management Services, AMS), to provide day-to-day management of the Association and management of our Conferences.  Citing excellent past service and fine prospects for the future, USAEE Council recently voted to approve new 5-year contracts with AMS.

Hand-off

My term as president concludes at the end of the year.  It has been an honor leading our Association this year and I look forward to supporting Ben Schlesinger (Benjamin Schlesinger and Associates) when his term as president begins in January.  I hope you will join me in supporting him, the other members of our 14-member Council, and our This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in making USAEE an important part of your professional life.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , especially if there are ways USAEE might enrich your engagement in energy economics.

Charles.

Charles Greer Rossmann, Ph.D.

Principal Research Economist

Southern Company

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