2026 Annual Meeting

Energy Security in an Era of Recurring Geopolitical Shocks

Speakers and Panelists

Keynote Speaker

Michael Cembalest

Chairman of Market and Investment Strategy, J.P. Morgan Asset and Wealth Management

Michael Cembalest is the Chairman of Market and Investment Strategy for J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management, a global leader in investment management and private banking. He is responsible for leading the strategic market and investment insights across the firm’s Institutional, Funds and Private Banking businesses. He is also a member of the J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management Investment Committee and previously served on the Investment Committee for the J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan. Most recently, Cembalest acted as Chief Investment Officer for the firm’s Global Private Bank, a role he held for eight years. He was previously head of a fixed income division of Investment Management, with responsibility for high grade, high yield, emerging markets and municipal bonds. Before joining Asset Management, Cembalest served as head strategist for Emerging Markets Fixed Income at J.P. Morgan Securities. He joined J.P. Morgan in 1987 as a member of the firm’s Corporate Finance division. Cembalest earned an M.A. from the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. from Tufts University.

Moderators and Panelists

Steven Cowley

Director, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; Professor of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University

Steven Cowley, a theoretical physicist and international authority on fusion energy, became the seventh Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) on July 1, 2018 and a professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University on September 1, 2018. Prior to that he was president of Corpus Christi College and professor of physics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom (2016-2018). Cowley also acted as chief executive officer of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and head of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy from 2008-2016. He earned his doctorate at Princeton University in astrophysical sciences in 1985 and was a staff scientist at PPPL from 1987 to 1993. From 2011-2016 he was a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Council on Science and Technology.

Chris Greig

Associate Director for External Partnerships, Theodora D. ’78 and William H. Walton III ’74 Senior Research Scientist at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University

Chris Greig is the Theodora D. ’78 and William H. Walton III ’74 Senior Research Scientist at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. He is also an honorary professor at The University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Melbourne in Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, a member of the Sustainability External Advisory Council for Dow Chemical Company, and a Director of Australia’s Future Energy Exports CRC. Greig’s academic career commenced at UQ in 2012 following 28 years in industry, starting in 1986 as the co-founder of a successful process technology and contracting company, which he sold in 1999 to a major European engineering conglomerate. Prior to joining UQ, he held senior executive roles in the energy and resources sectors, including as CEO of ZeroGen, an early pioneer in large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS). Greig also served as Chairman of the Energy Policy Institute of Australia, Deputy Chairman of Gladstone Ports Corporation (one of Australia’s largest energy export hubs) and as Non-Executive Director of two ASX listed engineering companies. His research is interdisciplinary, bringing engineering, energy systems, business and social sciences together to help overcome the challenges associated with the energy transition implementation. His work is deeply collaborative with industry and includes highly granular analysis and policy advice at national, sector and company scales. He has published in CCS, clean hydrogen, industry decarbonization and climate finance. Greig co-led Princeton’s influential Net-Zero America study and is leading Princeton’s participation in collaborations on similar studies in Asia-Pacific countries. He also teaches a multidisciplinary energy transitions course at Princeton, and a course on climate change and energy transitions as transitional risks, for the biannual U.S. Department of Defense Senior Managers’ Course on National Security at George Washington University.

Kate Hardin

Executive Director, Deloitte Research Center for Energy and Industrials, Deloitte

Kate Hardin is the current leader of Deloitte research across energy and industrial manufacturing and has worked in the global energy industry for 30 years. Before Deloitte, Hardin led global energy research for institutional investors and analysis of electrification’s impact on the oil and gas sector at IHS Markit. At Cambridge Energy Research Associates, (CERA) she led the firm’s coverage of Russian and Caspian energy development. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the US-Japan Foundation fellows program. Hardin received both an MA and MBA from Yale University.

Bernard Haykel

Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University

Bernard Haykel is a scholar of the Arabian Peninsula, focusing on the politics, economics, cultures and history of the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Yemen. He is professor of near eastern studies at Princeton University where he teaches courses on energy, history and politics. Haykel is completing a book titled “The Realm: Muhammad bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia” will be published by Penguin Press. The book is about the modern political history of the Kingdom and the rise to power of its crown prince. Haykel is also considered an authority on Islamist political movements and Islamic law. He earned his doctorate in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford.

Andrew Houck

Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Anthony H.P. Lee ’79 P11 P14 Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton University

Andrew Houck, the dean of Princeton’s school of engineering and applied science, has been on Princeton’s faculty since 2008. His research focuses on the intersection of quantum mechanics and computer science. He has played a leading role in developing one of the most promising approaches to building a quantum computer, a machine capable of solving problems that are impossible on classical devices. He served as the inaugural co-director of the Princeton Quantum Initiative and director of the Co-Design Center for Quantum, which is one of five Department of Energy research centers established in support of the National Quantum Initiative. Houck is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and is a fellow of the American Physical Society. A 2013 recipient of Princeton’s President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching and the valedictorian of Princeton’s Class of 2000, Houck is also a leader in educational initiatives, spearheading the creation of the University’s first-year engineering curriculum. He earned his Ph.D. in physics at Harvard University.

Jesse Jenkins

Moderator, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University

Jesse D. Jenkins is an associate professor of energy systems engineering and policy at Princeton University with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. He leads the Princeton ZERO Lab, which focuses on improving and applying energy systems models to evaluate and optimize low-carbon energy technologies, guide investment and research in innovative energy technologies, and generate insights to improve energy and climate policy and planning. His scholarship and teaching have been recognized with multiple awards, including the Howard B. Wentz, Jr. Junior Faculty Award. Dr. Jenkins’ public impact on American energy policy has also been honored by inclusion on the TIME100 Next, TIME100 Climate and Vox.com Future Perfect 50 lists. He advises several clean energy technology companies and is the co-founder and CTO of Firma Power, which assembles portfolios of ready-to-build assets to supply load-enabling clean firm power to data centers and other large loads.

Lynn Loo

Chief Executive Officer, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation; Theodora D. ’78 & William H. Walton III ’74 Professor in Engineering, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University

Joseph Majkut

Director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

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Iain McCulloch

Director, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Gerhard R. Andlinger ’52 Professor in Energy and the Environment, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University

Iain McCulloch is director of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Gerhard R. Andlinger ’52 Professor in Energy and the Environment and professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Andlinger Center at Princeton University. He also holds a visiting professor position in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford. He previously held joint appointments as professor of chemical science and director of KAUST Solar Center at KAUST, as well as a chair in polymer materials in the chemistry department at Imperial College. Before joining academia, he spent 18 years managing industrial research groups at Hoechst in the US and Merck in the UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the European Academy of Sciences and a member of Academia Europaea. He is the recipient of the 2022 Royal Society Armourers and Brasiers Prize, the 2020 Blaise Pascal Medal for Materials Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry 2020 Interdisciplinary Prize, 2014 Tilden Medal for Advances in Chemistry and the 2009 Creativity in Industry Prize. His interests are in the design and investigation of organic semiconducting materials.

Name

Title

Elke Weber

Moderator, Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment, Professor of Psychology and the School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Cindy Yeilding

Gerhard R. Andlinger Visiting Fellow, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University

Cindy Yeilding is a geoscientist with over 35 years of technical and leadership experience in the energy industry, specializing in business development, operations, research, and technological innovation. A leader in sustainability and the energy transition, her recent work focuses on developing and implementing carbon capture, utilization, and storage solutions. She possesses deep expertise in both corporate and nonprofit governance, most recently serving as a member of the Board of Directors for Denbury Inc. and as chair of The Center for Houston’s Future.

At the Andlinger Center, Yeilding is exploring an intersectional suite of interests that bridge technology applications with policy, economics, and strategic decision-making. Collaborating with faculty sponsor Chris Greig and Elke Weber, she is helping investigate how trust and collaboration impact the deployment of energy infrastructure. Her work also advances broader conversations surrounding energy awareness, climate challenges, and clean energy initiatives. Dedicated to mentorship, she also enjoys helping students and professionals explore and prepare for careers across the energy sector.

Princeton University