For the third year in a row, speakers from around the country will visit the Lory Student Center Oct. 27 and 28 to talk about the future of the natural gas energy industry.

Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, is delivering the keynote lecture at 6 p.m. Oct. 27 in the third-floor ballroom of the Lory Student Center.

Nearly 40 speakers will appear, including business managers, members of the oil industry, conservation specialists, mechanical engineers and more. This symposium is important to Colorado State University because research on measuring methane emissions from natural gas transmission was conducted by CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Lab in 2013, funded in part by the EDF.

This event is sponsored by the Energy Institute at CSU, which is headquartered at the new Powerhouse Energy Campus in Fort Collins and encompasses 12 research centers focused on different types of energy research.

“Through its 13 affiliated centers, the Institute aims to increase collaboration with industry and governmental partners to solve real-world energy problems and create new research and educational opportunities for CSU faculty and students,” the organization’s website states.

Those involved with the symposium are taking pride in providing a balanced view of the issues through input from their many speakers.

“CSU has built a reputation for the past four years for hosting balanced symposiums discussing all sides of the natural gas issue while remaining an honest broker of information and education,” the Symposium’s website states. “Our goal (for this event) is to enhance economic and environmental sustainability for industry and for state and local communities.”

There will be a specific student-focused networking event planned for students at the Oct. 27 public reception and keynote address; students are encouraged to attend.

The event is free to all, but organizers require that everyone wishing to attend or watch a live-stream of the event register first, which can be done on the symposium’s website.

Collegian Reporter Julia Rentsch can be reached at news@collegian.com and on Twitter at @julia_rentsch.