Participant Bios
Ron Ambrosio, Research Leader for Energy and Utilities, IBM
Ron Ambrosio oversees IBM’s Energy & Utilities Industry activities in its eight Research Laboratories around the world. Ron began his career in 1981 at the T.J. Watson Research Center. After working in variety of areas that included embedded operating systems, distributed application frameworks and middleware, and pervasive computing environments, in 1998 he focused on networked embedded computing, with particular emphasis on what he coined “Internet-scale Control Systems” - the integration of sensor and control system environments with large-scale distributed Information Technology environments and Business Processes, and helped establish IBM’s activities in both Intelligent Utility Networks and Sensors & Actuators.
Michael Andrew, Director of Government Affairs and External Communications; HEV Battery Systems, JCI
Ricardo Bazzarella, HEV Systems Manager, A123 Systems
Mr. Bazzarella is one of the founders of Hymotion, which was founded in June 2005 and acquired by A123Systems in March 2007. Ricardo’s diverse experience in the alternative fuel industry, and his long held belief in the benefits of green technology, brought him to work towards realizing his vision of plug-in hybrids as the newest technology breakthrough in the automotive industry.
Mr. Bazzarella brings with him over 12 years of engineering experience in the alternative fuel industry, having worked for such companies as Hydrogenics, Quantum Technologies (formerly Impco Technologies), and Orion Bus Industries.
Alec Brooks, GoogleAlec Brooks joined Google in 2008 where he is working in the areas of renewable energy and integration of plug-in vehicles into the power grid. Previously, Alec worked on vehicle and aircraft projects at Tesla Motors, AeroVironment, and AC Propulsion. He has been involved with electric and hybrid vehicles for more than 20 years in the areas of technology, public policy, and as a driver, and appears in the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car".
At AeroVironment he led the development of the GM SunRaycer solar racing car in 1987, and later led the development of the GM Impact electric vehicle, the forerunner of the EV1. At AC Propulsion, he spearheaded the development of concepts by which vehicles could supply ancillary service functions to the the power grid and coined the shorthand term "V2G" to describe this technology. Later at AeroVironment he was chief engineer for the Global Observer high altitude hydrogen powered unmanned aircraft. At Tesla Motors he developed and demonstrated how smart vehicle charging can perform grid ancillary services even without bi-directional power flow. Alec is a member of SAE committees that are working to standardize plug-in vehicle charging connectors and communications between the vehicle and infrastructure and grid.
Mike Burns, iTronMike Burns is responsible for guiding the Smart Grid strategy at Itron, Inc. In this role, Mike participates in a number of national level working groups and initiatives aimed at building consensus and understanding around the Smart Grid vision. Recently, he was part of an invitation-only DOE workshop aimed at developing metrics for measuring the progress of modernizing the US electric grid.
Before rejoining Itron in 2006, he was Chief Business Development Officer for MicroPlanet Technology Corp., a Seattle based energy efficiency technology company.
Giovanni Carapelli Giovanni Carapelli is Research & New Technology Director for Gilbarco Veeder-Root EMEA. His office is based in Florence, Italy. Since 2003, he has been responsible for ‘warp speed’ Innovation and advanced prototyping of new products and system architectures for Petroleum Retail Solutions. He has been working in the Petroleum Retail industry since 1984 in many roles: Senior Software engineer, System Architecture manager, Software Quality Assurance manager, Mobile Payments Marketing manager, and Innovation manager.
He has designed the system architecture for many international breakthrough projects (across Europe, US and China) including Point Of Sale applications, Self service payment platforms, and Remote Maintenance platform. He is currently researching wireless connectivity solutions based on mash networks. He is a patented inventor, with more than 10 international patents granted, ranging from “mobile payment system” to “plug & play architecture for forecourt automation”.
Dan Curtin, Vice President Boston Region, Zip Car
Dan Curtin joined Zipcar in April of 2004 at a time when Zipcar was still considered more of a great concept than the world’s largest car sharing service.
Before joining Zipcar, Dan spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, specifically in auto rentals and adaptive mobility equipment. Through his experience, Dan not only developed a broad understanding of both automotive markets, but also realized the opportunities that still existed within the industry as a whole. With a growing demand for more eco-friendly products and services, combined with the fast paced, technology-driven lifestyles of typical urbanites, Dan saw an enormous amount of potential for Zipcar to grow.
Since Dan has joined Zipcar, he has pioneered efficiencies within the market from fleet operations to building a sustainable membership base. Dan’s innovations, many of which are now best practices across the entire company, have helped grow the Boston Market at a rate of well over 100% for the past four years. In 2007 Dan received the Boston Green Business of the Year award from the city of Boston on behalf of the entire Zipcar Boston team.
Angus Duncan, President, Bonneville Environmental Foundation
Angus Duncan is the founding President of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a non-profit business venture that generates revenues from sales of renewable energy and carbon-offsetting Green Tags, and particpates in watershed restoration. Mr. Duncan represented three Oregon Governors on the four-state Northwest Power Planning Council from 1989 to 1995, and chaired the Council in 1995. Mr. Duncan has also worked in private sector renewable energy project development, and as Director of Energy Policy, US Department of Transportation. In 2004 Mr. Duncan chaired the Drafting Committee that wrote Oregon’s Climate Change Strategy. In 2006 he chaired the Governor’s Drafting Committee designing an Oregon load-based carbon emissions cap and trade mechanism. In 2008, he was appointed by Governor Kulongoski to chair Oregon’s legislatively-mandated Global Warming Commission.
Rick Durst, E-Manager Energy Information Services, Portland General Electric
Rick Durst has 19 years in the electric utility industry plus 10 years as an electrician in the U.S. Nuclear Submarine Service. He has lead PGE’s Energy Information Services program for the last 7 years and also manages PGE’s Demand BuyBack, Plug in Vehicle and Web-based Power Quality Monitoring programs. Rick also serves as a board member for the Oregon Association of Professional Energy Managers.
Rick has been an Electric Vehicle owner for nearly 10 years. He has driven his Electric vehicle (a converted 1985 Ford Escort) for over 80,000 electric miles. For 5 years he commuted 30 miles each way to work until recently moving closer to work. Since moving to Portland, he has sold his other two non-electric vehicles and supplements his EV driving with ZIP car, car sharing program.
Andrew Einaudi, Director of Product Marketing, Sling Media
Award-winning product developer behind Slingbox, SlingCatcher and SlingLink product lines, as well as Jawbone mobile headset. Acted as Lead Engineer on electronics/user interface for Hypercar concept with Rocky Mountain Institute. Current Focus: Consumer media and set-top box applications. Attended Stanford University (1992 - 1996) B.S. and studied Symbolic Systems, concentration in Human Computer Interaction. His work history is primarily consulting for high technology products.
Charlie Fisher works in P&G FutureWorks with responsibility for Connect & Develop.
P&G FutureWorks is the corporate entrepreneurial unit within Procter & Gamble charged with developing new to P&G product and service businesses which have the potential to transform consumer lives.
Charlie has been with P&G over 30 years, with the first 14 in the Cellulose and Specialties Division, in Technology Management and Process and Product Development. Since moving to Cincinnati in 1992, Charlie worked in Global Reliability Leadership, Innovation Methodologies, TRIZ, and Invention on Demand. Charlie put the invention theme into action with numerous device based projects including home robotics, and moved to P&G FutureWorks in May 2003.
Allan R. Gale is a Sr. Technical Specialist at Ford Research. Allan joined Ford Motor Co. in 1988 and is currently providing the technical lead for PHEV vehicle charging, power flow systems and V2H strategies as part of the Ford-DoE Plug-In Project. He led the Ford-DoE electric drives development effort for the Ford P2000 vehicle program and has been a key contributing member of many of the Ford electrified vehicle programs. His experience includes designs for both ac & dc electric vehicles. These design efforts include inverter and converter design, electric steering, traction motor design, and electro-mechanical transmission controls.
John Gartner is Editor in Chief of Matter Network. He has been covering computer, internet, and sustainable technologies for 20 years. He was an editor at Wired News, launched several websites for the TechWeb network, worked as an editor at TechTV, and has written for publications including Inc.com, Environment News Service, and Technology Review.
Joetta Gobell, is a Planner in Advanced Planning & Strategy at Nissan North America, where she has worked for the past 3 years on topics ranging from consumer trend identification and tracking to scenario planning to next-generation vehicle planning. Prior to working at Nissan, she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at New York University in the Department of Psychology and the Center for Neural Science. Joetta holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from UC Irvine, as well as a BS in Psychology and a BS in Mathematics from George Fox University.
Jeff Greenblatt, GoogleDr. Jeffery Greenblatt, PhD joined Google.org in March 2008 as Climate and Energy Technology Manager. He reviews the technical and scientific merits of renewable energy proposals for possible grants and/or investment for the RE
Before coming to Google.org, Dr. Greenblatt was a staff scientist at Environmental Defense Fund, where he examined the technical, economic and environmental aspects of a wide range of energy technologies. He also developed several wedge scenarios of emissions stabilization for California, the Midwest, and the US. He was the technical lead editor for "Earth: The Sequel," a book about the emerging clean energy technology field.
Britta Gross, Fuel Cell Activities; Manager, Hydrogen & Electrical Infrastructure, GM
Steve Hauser, Vice President Strategy, GridWise
Steve Hauser is Vice President of Strategy for GridPoint and is responsible for creating new markets and partnerships to accelerate the long-term growth of GridPoint. He has been nationally recognized for more than 25 years as a leader in clean energy technology development efforts. In 2002, he was featured in MIT’s Technology Review magazine as a pioneer in the electric smart grid revolution.
Mr. Hauser also serves as President of the GridWise Alliance, an advocacy group supporting a national imperative for modernizing the nation’s electric infrastructure. Since 2000, he has brought together more than 200 companies to create a broad industry vision to transform energy systems, markets and technologies. Mr. Hauser has also led the creation of a new national brand called "GridWise," significantly raising the visibility of these issues with federal and state policy makers.
Paul Heitman is a Senior Program Architect with Comverge, Inc., a NJ-based Clean Energy solution provider, who has initiated major electric utility price responsive programs within highly dynamic, electric utility regulatory environments.
Currently, Paul is serving as the Comverge representative to the Mid Atlantic Grid Interactive Cars (MAGIC) consortium, and is leading the charge toward embedding V2G and Smart Charging capabilities into a comprehensive Demand Response solution set for utility residential and independent large C&I programs.
Mike Hershberger works in P&G FutureWorks with responsibility for Research & Develop/Products Research.
P&G FutureWorks is the corporate entrepreneurial unit within Procter & Gamble charged with developing new to P&G product and service businesses which have the potential to transform consumer lives.
Mike has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and has been with Procter & Gamble for over 30 years. Mike spent his first 5 years in manufacturing at the P&G plant in Mehoopany, PA. In 1980 he transferred to R&D and relocated to Cincinnati. His assignments in R&D have included work on numerous P&G brands with the focus on product design and consumer understanding, and have also included a four year assignment at the P&G technical center in Frankfort, Germany. Mike is the inventor or co-inventor on a number of patents that have included design, technology, and business methods. Mike has been in P&G Future Works since 2002.
Dale J. Hoenshell is EDS’ global environmental sustainability manager. He is leading the company’s initiatives for reducing its carbon footprint through operational efficiency and productivity, employee engagement and leading-edge information technology services that achieve energy and cost savings for clients.
EDS’ progress in green pursuits under Hoenshell’s leadership include quality and efficiency processes; recycling and resource conservation programs; and a global environmental review to establish a baseline and targets for reducing greenhouse gases, water usage and waste streams. He is also integrating environmental stewardship into the operational business planning process and driving utilization of renewable power sources.
Mujeeb Ijaz is Director of the Automotive Applications Engineering team for A123Systems, Inc. in Livonia, Michigan. Mr. Ijaz’s team has the charter to develop OEM level battery system solutions for Electric and Plug in Hybrid vehicles using A123’s advanced Lithium Ion cell technology at best in class cost structure and life performance.
Mr. Ijaz has devoted his career within the electric vehicle segment of the auto industry contributing to battery systems of Electric Vehicles such as the Sodium Sulfur battery ECOSTAR EV, the Ranger EV, the Postal EV, the THINK City EV, the Ford Escape PHEV demo, and the HySERIES EDGE PHEV based on lithium ion technology.
Scott Jacobs joined the San Francisco office of McKinsey & Company in 2007 and manages the Firm’s cleantech service line. Prior to joining the firm, Scott spent 14 years in the high-technology, clean technology and private equity industries. Most recently, he helped start and lead PolyServe, a virtualization software company acquired by HP in 2007, where he served as General Manager for Europe, Middle East & Africa and established the international operations for the company. Previously, Scott was responsible for sales, marketing and business development functions at several technology companies. Prior to McKinsey, Scott was also a high-technology and clean-technology venture capital investor at Battery Ventures and WR Hambrecht + Co, where he invested in several successful, innovative companies such as Salesforce.com, GigaNet (acquired by Emulex), and Currenex (acquired by State Street Bank).
Scott has served the US Department of Energy and the State of Hawaii’s Clean Energy Initiative producing a greenhouse gas abatement curve and assessing the economics of renewable energy opportunities. Scott has been helping lead the McKinsey knowledge initiative on carbon emissions abatement as well as a major green building project to replace half of all new residential housing with zero energy homes. He has also served on the leadership team to launch the McKinsey Cleantech Practice. Prior to joining McKinsey, Scott worked as a consultant for A123 Systems, a next-generation battery company revolutionizing energy storage for consumer applications, electric and hybrid vehicles, and utilities, where he helped evaluate new battery chemistry technologies. Prior to joining McKinsey, Scott advised Sequoia Capital’s US and India venture capital funds on investment opportunities in renewable energy and clean technology.
David Kaplan leads GridPoint’s Electric Vehicle Management business (formerly
V2Green, Inc.), whose mission is to make electric vehicles grid-aware and enable the
smart grid for electric transportation. V2Green was co-founded in 2006 by Kaplan, Seth
Bridges, and Seth Pollack, and acquired by GridPoint in 2008. Prior to joining GridPoint,
Kaplan was Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of V2Green.
Donald Karner, President and CEO, Electric Transportation Engineering Corp (eTec)
Don Karner has thirty years of engineering and technical project management experience. Fifteen years of this experience was in the electric utility industry where he developed and implemented strategic direction for engineering, operating and maintenance organizations ranging in size from 10 to 3,000 people in nuclear, fossil, environmental and rate-making arenas. The balance of his experience has been with advanced vehicle design and fueling infrastructure as the President and CEO of Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation.
Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation, a subsidiary of ECOtality, specializes in advanced fuel vehicle and infrastructure development for both on and off road battery electric, hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles. In addition to his management responsibilities, Mr. Karner also serves as Technical Manager for the US Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity. In this capacity, he has directed more than 6 million miles of vehicle testing and evaluated more than 200 advanced fuel vehicles
Felix Kramer, Founder of the California Car Initiative, is an entrepreneur and lifelong environmentalist. Concentrating on innovative ideas, events and businesses in energy and technology, he builds ambitious and "first-ever" projects and companies. At CalCars, he is leading the first "by popular demand" campaign for a high-ticket consumer product that's expected to result in mass production. This could become a model for innovation in moving beyond fossil fuels.
In 2002, with sponsorship from Hypercar, Inc. and working with entrepreneurs, environmentalists, engineers, and drivers, Kramer founded the non-profit California Cars Initiative (CalCars.org) to put plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) on the map through technology demonstrations, advocacy and buyer demand. CalCars was first to convert the popular Toyota Prius into a prototype PHEV.
Eric Lemelson is the owner and manager of Lemelson Vineyards, a producer of Pinot noir and other cool-climate wines located in Carlton, Oregon. He received a J.D. in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland in 1992. He has been a member of the Oregon State Bar since 1993, and directed a research center on water law and policy at Lewis and Clark from 1994-1997. He is also Co-Vice President and Treasurer of The Lemelson Foundation. Prior to attending law school, Eric worked as a campaign staffer on local, state, and national political campaigns, and as a legislative aide. Eric is a member of the Oregon Global Warming Commission; founder of the Oregon Climate PAC; and a Board Member of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, 1000 Friends of Oregon; the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center; and several other NGOs and private companies.
Mike Lindheim, Grid Design and Deployment Team, Better PLC
Tim Lipman, Co-Director Transportation Sustainability Research Center, UCB
Praveen K. Mandal, Founder & President, Coulomb Technologies
Praveen K. Mandal brings to Coulomb Technologies more than 18 years of experience. Prior to Coulomb, he was vice president of research and development for Carrier Ethernet Solutions at Lucent Technologies. Before joining Lucent through an acquisition, Mr. Mandal was the vice president of engineering at Riverstone Networks, a company well regarded by many analysts as having the top technologies in the Carrier Ethernet routing market. Mr. Mandal joined Riverstone when Pipal Systems, where he served as CEO and Founder, was acquired. Before founding Pipal, Mr. Mandal held consulting and Venture Partner positions with numerous Venture Capital firms in Silicon Valley, providing his insight and expertise on market trends, telecommunications technology, and team assessments. Mr. Mandal is a veteran of five successful start-ups, including Redback Networks, Global Internet and ZeitNet. Mr. Mandal holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Santa Clara University.
Patrick Maloney is Senior Program Officer at the Lemelson Foundation, where he focuses on the Foundation’s technology dissemination strategy. Prior to joining the Foundation, he worked in northern California with mission-driven investors and donors in emerging technologies. He has also worked for a number of technology start-ups. Patrick began his career with Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. Patrick holds an MBA from UC Berkeley and a BS in International Politics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Tony Markel, Sr. Engineer, NREL
Tony Markel is a Senior Engineer and has been working on systems analysis of advanced vehicles for the past 12 years at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. Tony is a member of the Vehicle Systems Analysis Team in the Center for Transportation Technologies and Systems at NREL and provides support to the DOE Vehicle Technologies Program. Tony earned a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oakland University in 1995 and a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado.
Tony’s expertise spans advanced vehicle technologies to include hybrid electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles. He was instrumental in the development of the ADVISOR software tool for vehicle systems simulation and is skilled at using analysis and optimization tools to highlight potential solutions to real-world problems.
Tony participated in the original EPRI HEV impacts study and is currently leading a team of engineers at NREL to explore plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology as an option for reducing our nation’s petroleum consumption and as an enabler for renewable generation.
Jeff Miller, Global Development Team, Better PLC
Jim Mollenkopf serves as Chief Technology Officer of CURRENT Group, a provider of smart grid systems and technology. In this role he is responsible for overall technology strategy, systems architecture and engineering, key technology development, and standards/regulatory issues. He holds 15 patents and has frequently been invited to speak on communications and SmartGrid issues by numerous organizations including multiple IEEE conferences , the US National Science Foundation, the US Federal Communications Commission, and others. Prior to joining Orbital at its founding in 2000, he worked at Orbital Sciences where he led the communications system design team for the Orbcomm space segment. Before joining Orbital, he served for 11 years with the US government in a variety of technology development positions.
Rob Mosher is Director of Product Marketing for A123Systems Energy Solutions Group in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Mr. Mosher is responsible for developing the pack systems product roadmap based on A123’s advanced Lithium Ion cell technology.
Prior to joining A123Systems in May 2008, Rob held a variety of product marketing, management consulting, manufacturing and general management positions in high technology and consumer products companies.
Reuben Munger is currently Chairman of Bright Automotive, a next generation PHEV company. He is a seasoned investment professional and Managing Partner of Vision Ridge Partners, L.L.C. Prior to founding Vision Ridge in 2008, Mr. Munger was a Managing Director at The Baupost Group, L.L.C., a $15 billion investment firm. Vision Ridge aims to develop financially viable solutions to the global climate crisis. Reuben serves as a director of RMI.
Clay Nesler is the Vice President, Global Energy and Sustainability for the Building Efficiency business of Johnson Controls. In this role, he is responsible for guiding energy and sustainability strategy, policy, marketing, communications and innovation on a global basis. Since joining Johnson Controls in 1983, He has held a variety of leadership positions in research, new product development, marketing and strategy in both the United States and Europe. Clay received his BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a co-inventor on ten U.S. Patents. His current technology interests include the design of advanced vehicle-to-building energy management systems.
Julia Novy-Hildesley is Executive Director of the Lemelson Foundation, a family philanthropy dedicated to improving lives through invention. The Foundation engages young people in hands-on invention education; supports inventors in the U.S. and developing countries who are tackling sustainable development challenges; and provides grants, loans and equity investments to social enterprises which distribute technologies that address basic human needs and increase incomes for poor people. As of 2008, the Foundation had donated or committed more than $140 million in support of its mission.
Prior to joining the Lemelson Foundation in 2002, Julia founded and directed the World Wildlife Fund’s West Coast office, consulted to the World Bank, USAID and the UK Department for International Development, and over a number of years resided and conducted research in Tanzania, Bolivia, French Polynesia, and, funded by a Fulbright Scholarship, Madagascar. She earned a Master's of Philosophy degree in International Development from Sussex University, funded by a Marshall Scholarship, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a Bachelor's degree in Human Biology and a Minor in African Studies. Julia serves on numerous boards, including the Women's Leadership Board at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Board of the World Affairs Council of Oregon, and the Editorial Board of Innovations, a journal published by MIT Press.
Safi Oranski, Vice President Business Development, Arcadian Networks, a provider “last mile” wireless carrier services to the energy sector - electric, water, and gas utilities and oil and gas companies. He is responsible for developing new markets, strategic relations, and partnerships. Previous to Arcadian Safi held senior positions at SAP, and BackFlip Software where he focused on strategic business development, product marketing, market and product penetration, and sales. He has a role at Gilo Ventures, where he focuses on the funds’ investments in communications infrastructure, enterprise software, and medical devices. Safi has his MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He has a law degree from The Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. As an attorney, he worked in the corporate division of one of the leading law firms in Israel.
David Ozment is currently serving as Director of Energy in the Wal-Mart Energy Group. In this role, he leads and manages the company’s business relationships and with utilities (Investor Owned Electric & Gas Utilities, Municipals, Electric Cooperatives, and Government Agencies) across the U.S. Most recently, he has also led Wal-Mart’s Solar Pilot, and by the end of 2008, 19 solar systems will be operational on Walmart, Sam’s Club and Distribution Center facilities in California and Hawaii.
David came to Wal-Mart in January 2003, with over 30 years of electric utility experience, primarily with American Electric Power Company (AEP) and Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a part of the Central & Southwest System (CSW). Over his utility career he held a number of management and senior management positions including operations, marketing, business development and regulatory.
David graduated from the University of Arkansas and attended executive management development programs at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and Oklahoma State University.
Karen Padham Taylor, GoogleKaren Padham Taylor joined Google in 2004. She was a Product Manager on Google consumer products such as Froogle, News, and Image Search for the first couple years at Google. She later joined AdSense and was a Product Manager on rich media ads such as Image ads and Video ads. Over the years she has become very interested in climate and energy issues. She recently joined Google.org's team and is the Program Manager on RechargeIt.
Terry Penney, Technology Manager, Advanced Vehicle and Fuel Technologies
Terry Penney joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 1979. Prior to joining NREL, he worked for Concentration, Heat and Momentum (CHAM) a consulting group headed by Prof. Brain Spalding based in London developing unique finite element computational codes for multiphase heat and mass transfer problems. He also worked Von Karmen Facility at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in middle Tennessee where he worked on the Space Shuttle program. At NREL he has worked on Ocean Energy, Buildings research, Optical and Thermal Fluid Science. More recently, he launched the Hybrid Vehicle program in 1992, which grew into a $300M Partnership for New Generation Vehicles (PNGV) between the government and GM, Ford and DaimlerChyrsler. Currently he is NREL's Technology Manager for Advanced Vehicle and Fuel Technologies responsible for both alternative fuels and advanced vehicles projects in both light and heavy-duty hybrid platforms.
He has more than 50 technical publications to his credit, including energy-related articles in Scientific American and the Encyclopedia Britannica. Terry has worked on computational fluid dynamics problems for a variety of applications and has pushed math-based analysis, which has evolved simultaneous multi-physics based tools with optimization including six-sigma, optimization and virtual proving ground. He has 35 years experience in testing and analysis in aerodynamics, heated mass transfer components, and advanced thermodynamic cycles, including gas turbines. He is an SAE member, a Baldridge team competition examiner, National Science Bowl scientific judge and winner of the Van Morris Award for performance. His undergraduate degree was from Purdue University in Aeronautical Engineering and Engineering Science and his graduate work was at the University of Tennessee in Mechanical Engineering. He received the MRI president’s award in 1992 for exceptional performance and the Van Morris award in 1996 for inspired leadership and forging links to industry.
Alec Proudfoot, GoogleAlec Proudfoot advises Google's philanthropy wing, Google.org, on energy and transportation issues, and is the technical lead on the Google.org RechargeIT initiative. RechargeIT aims to reduce CO2 emissions, cut oil use and stabilize the electrical grid by accelerating the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technology. The initiative was announced in June of 2007 with a small fleet of test vehicles, with data downloadable at RechargeIT.org.
Alec was a member of the engineering team at AeroVironment that created the GM Impact prototype. The Impact entered production as the GM EV1, the first modern high power AC induction electric vehicle. Alec has followed the alternative fuel vehicle scene as an engineer, a consumer, and filmmaker-- some of his footage appeared in the recent documentary film "Who Killed the Electric Car."
Jake Rasweiler, Vice President IT, Engineering and Network Operations, Arcadian Networks
Jonathan Read, President and Chief Executive Officer, Eco Tality
Jonathan Read is President and CEO of ECOtality (OTCBB: ETLY), a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. Over the last 30 years, Read has grown corporations in various markets through global licensing agreements, strategic partnerships and creative management guidance.
Prior to founding ECOtality, Read was the founder, former Chairman and CEO of Park Plaza International (Park Inn International/Park Plaza Worldwide). Read grew the hotel chain into a leading global hotel group focused on licensing and joint ventures with operations in 32 countries. In 2003, he sold the companies to Carlson Hospitality and Golden Wall Investments in 2003.
Mike Rowand is Director, Advanced Customer Technologies for Duke Energy, and is responsible for Duke’s strategy and planning related to electric transportation and customer based distributed generation and energy storage. These responsibilities include the integration of transportation and energy storage into Duke Energy’s smart-grid program and Customer Service processes. In his 20+ years with Duke Energy, Mike has experience in a variety of areas including Transmission, Distribution, Customer Service, and Marketing. He is a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed Professional Engineer in NC and SC.
John Savage was appointed to the Oregon Public Utility Commission in September, 2003, after serving as Director of the agency’s 70-person regulatory staff. Before joining the Commission, Savage was Director of the Oregon Department of Energy for eight years under Oregon Governors Roberts and Kitzhaber. While at the Department of Energy, Savage oversaw the development of Oregon’s energy, oil shortage, and global warming plans; administered programs to save energy and develop renewable resources; regulated the clean-up and transport of radioactive waste; and sited new power plants and other energy facilities. Savage has served on many state, regional, and national energy task forces including Oregon Governor Kulongoski’s Climate Change Task Force and President Clinton’s Alternative Fuels Task Force technical advisory committee.
Savage currently chairs the Western Interconnection Regional Advisory Body, which advises FERC, NERC, and WECC on mandatory reliability standards; the Electricity Committee of the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners; and the Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation – a joint committee of the Western Interstate Energy Board (the energy arm of the Western Governors Association) and the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners. Savage also co-chairs the Technical Committee of the Western Renewable Energy Zone project of the Western Governors Association. Savage has an M.S. in natural resource economics.
Allan Schurr, IBM Global Energy & Utilities Industry, Vice President, Strategy and Development
Allan Schurr is responsible for IBM’s energy and utilities strategy and solution development for energy and utility clients worldwide. These solutions include customer management, advanced metering infrastructure, work & asset management, and distributed energy integrating the breadth of IBM hardware, software, and service offerings with key partners.
In addition, Schurr leads IBM’s utility initiatives for emerging solutions in energy and climate change across the globe. In this role, Schurr is spearheading a global team which is working with utility companies, energy policy makers, and other partners to accelerate the development of an intelligent utility network and the integration of renewable energy sources and distributed energy assets.
Nadeem Sheikh is an Engagement Manager in McKinsey & Company’s San Francisco Office. He is also a Fellow of the Firm’s Climate Change Special Initiative, a cross-industry and cross-functional practice within McKinsey focused on the business impact of climate change.
Most recently, Nadeem has been spearheading McKinsey’s internal and client efforts on the topic of electric vehicles, assessing the market potential, recent and required technical innovations, and strategies to capture business opportunities related to the electrification of transport. He also leads McKinsey’s global market research on the emerging “green consumer and has helped several clients develop strategies for bringing green products to the mass market.
Prior to McKinsey, Nadeem was a consultant at Accenture focused on organizational strategy, and also held roles as a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow and Political & Environmental Affairs Analyst at Lufthansa Airlines in Berlin, Germany. He holds an MBA from the University of California-Berkeley.
Pam Sporborg is the Load Management Lead at the Bonneville Power Administration, overseeing planning, implementation, and R&D activities for BPA’s Demand Response programs. She is also the lead for Non-Wires Solutions, which utilizes a combination of targeted Demand Response and Energy Efficiency to replace or defer the construction of new transmission lines. In 2008, Pam was awarded a Presidential Management Fellowship with the US Department of Energy. Prior to working at Bonneville, Pam was a Microfinance research fellow at Mann Deshi Mahila Bank in Mhaswad, India.
Jim Solomon, Director of Product Management, Coulomb Technologies
Prior to Coulomb, Jim was a Senior Product Manager at Redback Networks, where he managed and brought to market several successful products including: hardware cards and software features for the SmartEdge Router, the SMS family of Subscriber Management Systems, and the NetOp for SMS network and element management system. Prior to Redback, Jim was a Senior Staff Engineer at Motorola Inc., where he defined the packet data architecture for the iDEN radio system, later deployed by NexTel/Sprint Networks. While successfully leading the effort to standardize the Mobile IP protocol (Internet RFC 2002), Prentice Hall approached Jim to write a book on the topic. Mobile IP: The Internet Unplugged, (ISBN 0138562466) was published by Prentice Hall in 1996. Prior to this mobile internetworking activity, Jim designed, simulated, and tested new modulation techniques for the transmission of packet data over radio systems. Jim is inventor or co-inventor of three US Patents. He has a Master of Science in Computer Science from the National Technological University, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Kurt Stogdill, Program Manager of Innovation and Opportunity Development, Austin Energy
JB Straubel, Chief Technical Officer, Tesla
Danan Sudindranath, GoogleDanan Sudindranath joined Google in 2003. Over the years he has developed a strong interest in energy issues. He has spent the last year as first as a 20%, and lately as a full-time member of the Rechargeit project's engineering team. He has worked on backend, frontend, and data analytics software for Rechargeit's data collection efforts. Currently, he is working on a more in-depth exploration of the Rechargeit Driving Experiment data.
Danan received his Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and done some graduate coursework in CS at Stanford University. He is also learning the art of motorcycle maintenance in his garage. He loves historical linguistics, and speaks a variety of (human) languages ... most quite badly.
Elizabeth Svoboda, Contributing Writer, Fast Company
In addition to writing for Fast Company, Ms. Svoboda contributes to Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, the New York Times, and Salon.com. She enjoys covering greentech topics, particularly in the alternative-fuel realm. She graduated from Yale University in 2003 with a BA in Literature.
Andrew Tang, Senior Director Smart Energy Web, PG&E
Andrew Tang joined PG&E Corporation in 2007 in the Corporate Strategy and Development Group focusing on Special Projects. He was responsible for strategy formulation and analysis and support in the implementation of PG&E’s strategic initiatives. Mr. Tang recently joined Pacific Gas and Electric Customer Products & Services team as Senior Director, Smart Energy Web. In his new role, Andrew has responsibility for Clean Air Transportation (including Plug-In Electric Hybrid Vehicles) and the Energy Information Network underpinning the Smart Energy Web. In addition, I am also responsible for PG&E’s Demand Response Programs.
From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Tang was the Director of European WiMAX Solutions Development for Intel Corporation. In that role he managed a Europe-based team responsible for working with wireless carriers and ISPs to implement next generation wireless data networks and advised Intel Capital on several investments in European start-up telecommunications companies.
Brian Verprauskus is a Senior Manager in Corporate Planning at Nissan North America where he is currently working on planning and business development for Nissan’s Electric Vehicle program. Brian has been at Nissan for 2 ½ years and has 10+ years of experience in the automotive industry including previous management roles within the Engineering and Manufacturing disciplines. Brian has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
John Waters, CEO & President, Bright Automotive
Mr. Waters is an entrepreneurial and business development professional with over 25 years experience in enterprise development, strategic planning, and high-volume production of engineered products and solutions. Mr. Waters is currently leading a “dream team” of advanced automotive experts in the research and development of lightweight, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs).
Previously, Mr. Waters was Vice President of the Transportation Practice at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). He initiated and established the practice, which provided advanced energy strategy for Fortune 500 companies (e.g., Alcoa, Pacific Gas & Electric, Wal-Mart, etc.). Prior to RMI, Mr. Waters worked for a several large organizations including EnerDel, Inc., Delphi Corporation, GM and Texas Instruments.
Mike Weedall, has over twenty-five years of experience in the energy industry. At present he is the Vice President of Energy Efficiency, responsible for leadership of BPA’s energy efficiency and load management programs. This includes program initiatives developed for and implemented throughout the Pacific Northwest. In addition, program services are provided to federal facilities throughout the region. Mike also leads BPA’s liaison with a variety of interest groups in the Northwest for energy efficiency issues.
Mike began his career in energy efficiency when he was selected to be a Presidential Management Intern for the U.S. Department of Energy in 1978. From 1981–1985, Mike was the Program Manager for Conservation Finance at BPA. In this position, he was responsible for incorporating finance elements into energy efficiency programs.
Ron Westby is Director of Environmental Policy for Ford Motor Company. In a career of 30 years, he has worked with company affiliates in Asia, South America, as well as in North America.
Westby began his Ford career on the Finance Staff and has held positions in Governmental Affairs, Corporate Strategy, Business Development, Car Product Development and Planning, Car Powertrain Planning, and Transmission and Chassis Operations.
Prior to joining Ford, Westby served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. He was an assistant to Mayor Richard Lugar in Indianapolis and a New York City Urban Fellow in Mayor John Lindsay’s Office.
Westby has a Master of Public Affairs degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Saul Zambrano, Director, Clean Air Transportation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, joined PG&E Corporation in 2008 to lead the Clean Air Transportation group. In his new role, Saul has responsibility for accelerating the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles (including Plug-In Electric Hybrid Vehicles) and solving the issues with respect to the efficient integration of alternative fuel vehicles with the grid.
From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Zambrano was Director of the Global Finance Transformation Initiative for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, with responsibility for system and process improvements from new product introduction, technology standardization, and financial settlements (client and supplier). From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Zambrano was the Director of WiMAX Solutions Commercial Marketing for Intel Corporation. In that role he managed a Global team responsible for working with wireless carriers, regulatory bodies and ISPs to implement next generation wireless data networks.
RMI Participants
Amory B. Lovins is cofounder, Chairman and Chief Scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute. Amory has been a thought leader in the transportation industry for decades. He currently works with the MOVE Team on key technologies and trends, and provides additional strategic insight. Mr. Lovins combines his knowledge of key best practices in transport with those of other sectors, helping MOVE bring wholesystems thinking to our work and research.
Currently, Mr. Lovins serves on the Transformational Advisory Council at Ford Motor Company, a group that advises Chairman Bill Ford on moving Ford into the next generation of transportation.
Michael Potts, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rocky Mountain Institute, is a former Managing Partner with Galway Investments, an investment firm focused on alternative public offering strategies for small-cap and mid-cap companies, and a consultant. Prior to Galway, he served as CEO for American Fundware and Vice President of Public Sector Solutions at Intuit. His 25 years' experience in high-tech sales and marketing, and general management, began with IBM, BancTec, Recognition International, and American Fundware. Potts currently serves on RMI's Board of Trustees, as well as the boards of the Business School at the University of Colorado in Denver, Denver's Curious Theater, and Kripalu Center, the nation's largest spiritual retreat center. A Denver resident, Potts will be based in RMI's Boulder, Colorado office.
Michael Brylawski founded and leads the RMI MOVE practice, bringing established thought leadership, strategic advising, and new venture creation in the green mobility space. He was among the first to publish, in the 1990s, on the emergence of lightweighting and electrification (particularly hybrids) as dominant trends in the automotive sector, and heads MOVE's research on reducing oil consumption through technology and business innovation.
Llewellyn Wells Vice President Communications and Media, has spent twenty years in the entertainment industry and has been involved in the production of fourteen feature films and five television series. Some of the films that he has worked on include "Bagdad Cafe," "The Grifters," "Dogfight," and "Under Suspicion." The highlight of his television career was working on the acclaimed series "The West Wing." As one of the original producers on the series, Llewellyn is honored to have won five Emmy Awards and two Producers Guild Awards. Leaving Los Angeles in 2006, Wells founded an Internet video production company, GreenFit, with his longtime friend Bob Wilson.
Ned Harvey, Vice President of Operations, joined RMI in July of 2008 to drive institute-wide improvement in internal and external processes and align those processes to enhance RMI’s mission effectiveness. Ned has over twenty years of experience in diverse business leadership and has tremendous cross-functional skills. He has extensive experience in planning, project finance, business development, marketing, and business planning. Prior to coming to RMI, Ned was the CEO and founder of Cistern Solutions, a Sstrategy consultancy that specialized in assisting large corporations identify new business opportunities and structure development projects in the emerging renewable and clean energy industries. Before founding Cistern, Ned was the president of startup firm Simplicity Energy Farms, an advisory and development company working with ranchers and rural communities to develop their renewable energy resources. Preceding Simplicity, Ned was a ten-year executive at Parson Consulting, a management consulting firm specializing in corporate finance and accounting.
Before transitioning to the business world, Ned spent eight years as an Officer in the United States Navy, serving aboard Nuclear Submarines and in the Tomahawk Cruise Missile Program Office. Ned holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from University of California at San Diego.
Lena Hansen is a Principal on RMI’s Energy & Resources Team, and frequently collaborates with MOVE: RMI’s Transportation Innovation Group. She specializes in energy and carbon strategy and design innovation for electric utilities, industry, and corporations. Lena’s work at RMI focuses on industrial process efficiency and renewable energy supply, including wind, solar, and distributed generation for electricity, and biofuels for transportation.
Kitty Wang, is a Principal with the Energy & Resources Team. She leads RMI’s research and consulting projects for utilities, governments, and industry. Ms. Wang’s expertise pertains to demand response, demand-side efficiency, integrated resource planning and utility regulation, and carbon strategy.
Laura Schewel is consultant with the MOVE Team. She focuses on transportation systems (such as integrating vehicles and the grid through vehicle electrification), life cycle analysis, sustainability strategy for transportation companies, as well as investigating the safety implications of radical fuel economy improvements and large systems (eg. food distribution).
Kristine Chan-Lizardo has an extensive background in product development and engineering. Eight years with design consultancy IDEO have made her seasoned in design project management and workshop facilitation skills. Additionally, her expertise includes translating the needs and issues expressed by end users into ideal user experiences and product requirements, whether that product is a consumable, service, or environment. As a consultant, Kristine worked with companies in the industries of healthcare, household goods, consumer electronics & appliances, food packaging, and furniture manufacturing. Kristine comes to RMI most recently from Orbit Baby, a small start-up selling a radically new product system in the infant car seat and baby gear market. As this category produced few true innovations in the past 20 years, Kristine understands the barriers to successfully introducing innovation into an established, risk-adverse industry. Prior to IDEO, Kristine spent four years working at Ford Motor Company in plastic components manufacturing. With her experience in generating innovative product concepts and debugging those designs through to implementation, Kristine brings a unique perspective to RMI’s philosophy of “Think-and-Do”.
Stephanie Johns is an analyst with the MOVE Team. Her research includes plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), advanced energy storage, energy efficiency, and ongoing efforts to implement the strategies from Winning the Oil Endgame. She focuses on broader system concepts and implementation, such as interconnected energy and transportation systems.
Chad Riley is an analyst on RMI's Built Environment Team. As a member of the Built Environment Team, Chad is involved in a number of different projects including sustainability guidelines for large scale, mixed-used developments; citywide energy efficiency plans; policy recommendations for a State government; and a sustainability assessment of a large, multi-national corporate client. Chad is also a member of RMI’s LEED project certification review team for the USGBC.
Mike Simpson specializes in transportation system optimization and comes from a background in Aerospace Engineering. He infuses his knowledge of electric propulsion, aerodynamics, and systems design into MOVE’s work with passenger vehicles, heavy-duty trucks, and aviation.
Mark Gately, Intern, recently completed his graduate work at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont, where he applied computer simulation and modeling techniques to a variety of environmental issues. For example, he developed a two-article thesis entitled “Dynamic modeling to inform environmental management: Applications in energy resources and ecosystem services”.
In addition, as a key member of the Multi-scale, Integrated Models of Ecosystem Services (MIMES) research and development team, he combined his modeling expertise with skill in geospatial analysis, computer programming, and system administration to help build quantitative understanding of ecosystem services.