In 2008, the Foundation agreed to underwrite a comprehensive new two-year study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) faculty on the role of natural gas in the United States energy future. The study is designed to provide a detailed assessment of the supply of natural gas both in the U.S. and overseas over the mid to longer term, and to examine the potential sources of demand for natural gas during this time frame.

This study, which will be completed in the Summer of 2010, will augment MIT’s prior reports on The Future of Coal (2007) and The Future of Nuclear Power (2003).

The study is being directed by Dr. Ernest Moniz, Director of the MIT Energy Initiative, and Melanie Kenderdine, Associate Director.

The work of the MIT study team is also overseen by an independent Advisory Board whose members include: