2026 Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Symposium Brings Together University and Industry Leaders
This year’s event invited University leadership, alumni and industry partners to discuss the future of energy globally.
Last Friday, current and former Longhorns gathered with industry leaders in the Zlotnik Family Ballroom for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center’s annual Energy Symposium. The all-day event brought together experts from across the industry to discuss the most pressing issues in energy, including the future of traditional and emerging sectors, accelerating energy demand, artificial intelligence, and the race for energy security.
The program began with an introduction by the center’s founding member, former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who discussed the speakers and presentations tackling the forces reshaping global energy systems. Jack Balagia, the center’s executive director, kicked off the morning by moderating a talk with Michael Wirth, chairman and CEO of Chevron, on the global energy company’s future related to supply chains and growth, and balancing long-term investment with geopolitical risk.
The second presentation brought together UT Executive Vice President and Provost William Inboden and author Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global. The pair discussed the past, present and future of energy production, energy industry and geopolitics, as well as Yergin’s collection of books and experience as a policy adviser on the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. His book “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power” won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction.
“I sometimes say, there’s two kinds of people in the world,” Inboden said. “Those who have read “The Prize” and those who need to read “The Prize.”
Yergin and Inboden continued with discussion of U.S. energy independence, the future of oil and gas, and new energy growth, including nuclear, hydrogen and batteries. They closed their talk with optimism about the future of energy and current innovation, which excited current Longhorns in the room hopeful to go into the energy sector.
Other panels throughout the day included industry leaders such as Gloria Moncrief, president and CEO, Montex Drilling Company; Pablo Vegas, president and CEO, ERCOT; and Bill Nelson, a former NASA administrator and U.S. senator. University leaders at the panels included Dean Bradley R. Staats of the McCombs School of Business; Dean Bobby Chesney of the UT School of Law; and Marek Locmelis, professor at the Jackson School of Geosciences.
Sessions and panels throughout the afternoon showcased expert voices on energy infrastructure growth, high-stakes decision-making, and advice to future Longhorns about going into the field. Many presenters had spent years on the Forty Acres themselves, showing that the present and future of energy and the University are distinctly intertwined.
The day concluded with a joint event with the Clements Center for National Security and Strauss Center for International Security and Law, marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Hutchison and Inboden led a conversation on energy security and the evolving nature of global threats after participants shared stories of their experiences on the day of the attacks.
