President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson visited Boston universities Tufts Fletcher School, Harvard and MIT where he met with scientists and experts to discuss environmental affairs, including climate change and the melting of ice in the polar regions.
President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.
At Harvard, Ólafur Ragnar met with James G. Anderson, Principal Investigator at the university’s Anderson Research Group, a team focused on research of “global scale issues at the intersection of climate and energy”, with whom he discussed his research on the Greenland glacier, clues indicating the depletion of the ozone layer and the risks posed to life in the polar regions.
Another of Harvard’s scholars, Henry Lee introduced the Icelandic president to his research in the field of energy and the need for environmental protection regulations in an age where demand for oil resources is on the rise.
Lee is currently working on a report on the harnessing of energy in Iceland and the country’s future in energy affairs, ruv.is reports.
During his visit to MIT, innovations in solar energy, and a drilling process where rock is melted were presented. Geothermal research and obstacles to harnessing geothermal energy in the United States were also discussed.
On a second meeting, the president learned about oceanic research and MIT’s cooperation with the Marine Research Institute at Woods Hole. Icelandic scientists have participated in various assignments connected to the research.
Click here to read more about the Ólafur Ragnar’s visit to Tufts Fletcher School.
JB
