On January 17-18, 2017, Dr. Petra Dolata (CRC History of Energy, University of Calgary) and I attended a workshop on Energy Transformations in Berlin, organized by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPICEC). This workshop was convened by the directors of the MPIWG and MPICEC as part of a larger interdisciplinary initiative aimed at advancing the project of energy transition, a critical project of the Max Planck Society, German research organizations and the German state as well. The MPG directors stressed “the reflective potential of the humanities and social sciences, with their deep awareness of the past and their current discussions of energy transformations” and the necessity of collaborative work to move the world forward towards new energy directions. Dr. Dolata and I presented the research agenda of the Energy In Society research group at the U of C (Calgary Institute for the Humanities) and our individual research projects.
