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TTU VPR Joseph Heppert Testifies in Washington, D.C.

August 6, 2018 | Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University’s Vice President for Research Joseph A. Heppert represented the Texas Tech University System testifying before a congressional subcommittee on energy on June 7. The U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a subcommittee hearing on the future of the United States’ electric grid.

Heppert discussed how Texas Tech is addressing the issues of making the U.S. energy grid more secure, reliable, robust and resilient when under threat.

“There is a growing consensus that future conflicts among major military and economic adversaries may involve preliminary skirmishes in cyberspace, with grid infrastructure as a prime target,” Heppert said during his testimony. “Indeed, some recent cases provide indications that both state and non-state actors have already targeted and demonstrated an ability to threaten the grid.”

During the hearing, subcommittee chairman Lamar Smith focused on Texas Tech’s strength in the wind energy arena.

“My home state of Texas offers a ready example of the impact battery storage could have on harnessing renewable power. Texas is the top wind producing state in the country. So it’s no surprise that Sandia National Laboratory chose to partner with Texas Tech University on a wind-energy field testing site in Lubbock, Texas,” Smith said.