Buildings Program Staff

Learn more about the expertise and technical skills of NREL's buildings research team and staff by reading our short biographies:

Buildings Program Point of Contact

Mary Colvin, Buildings Technology Manager

Building Technologies Program Staff Biographies (Alphabetical)

Ren Anderson — Senior Project Manager

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7433
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado
B.S. with Honors, Engineering Physics, University of Colorado

Ren joined NREL in 1983 as a Post-Doctoral research fellow. He managed the Building Energy Technology Program from 1990-2003 which included managing passive solar research, active solar thermal research, the development of advanced window coatings, building energy design tools, advanced desiccant cooling and heat recovery systems, BCHP (Building Cooling, Heating, and Power) systems, the Building America program, innovative residential energy system retrofits, and conducting research on residential ventilation system performance. Currently, Ren is the technical research manager for DOE's Building America Program. He was a co-recipient of a patent in 2001 for "Vehicle Cabin Cooling System for Capturing and Exhausting Heated Boundary Layer Air from Inner Surfaces of Solar Heated Windows" and has received several awards including the President's Award for Exceptional Performance in 1993, U.S. Department of Energy's Recognition Award for development of the Thermal Test Facility in 1995, and an Outstanding Accomplishment Award for the Thermal Test Facility in 1996. Ren's current research activities focus on evaluating the benefits of Zero Energy Homes for builders, consumers, and utilities and technical support for NREL's ventilation and air distribution research projects. Ren is a member of ASME, ASHRAE, ASES, IES, NAHB, and NCHI.

C. Dennis Barley — Senior Engineer I

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7592
M.S. and Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University
B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Drexel University

Dennis was hired at NREL in 2001, after several periods of contract work at NREL beginning in 1993. Most recently, in 2004, he has led NREL's participation in developing a software certification procedure for home energy efficiency tax credits. This work includes serving as technical monitor on two subcontracts as well as performing hourly simulations of home energy performance to generate reference results. Since early 2003, he has also served on the commercial buildings team, helping to develop standard metrics for building energy performance, including heating, cooling, ventilating, lighting, and on-site power generation (PV etc.). From 2000 to 2002, on NREL's Building America team, Dennis conducted research on residential ventilation systems, including field-test methods; analyzed and reported on the thermal and electrical energy performance of the Van Geet off-grid home; and served as the technical monitor for two subcontractors, including one of the Building America industry teams. In prior work as a subcontractor at NREL's National Wind Technology Center, Dennis conducted research on wind/PV/diesel hybrid off-grid electrical power systems. This included guiding model development efforts, analyzing optimal dispatch strategies, training international partners on new software and analysis techniques, and conducting international project feasibility studies. Prior to his activities at NREL, Dennis coauthored the Passive Solar Design Handbook at LANL, coded early solar heating design software at the former Solar Environmental Engineering Company, performed commercial HVAC design for a mechanical contractor, and performed electronic design at RCA. Dennis is a member of ASHRAE and ASES.

Jay Burch — Senior Scientist

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7508
Ph.D. Physics, University of Colorado
B.S. Physics, St. Mary's College of California

Jay was hired at NREL in 1982. He has led the Low-Cost Systems project at NREL since 1997. The major thrust of that project has been the development of low-cost, polymer-based residential solar domestic water heating systems. There are three industry teams in the project, with two teams focused on residential unpressurized integral-collector-storage systems (ICS) and one team focused on a polymer flat-plate-collector active system. Since 1990, Jay has been responsible for the development of U.S. test-and-rate methods for passive solar water heating systems. The approach is built around the calibration and validation of detailed thermal simulation models for the systems. Jay is also involved with the development of modeling, optimization, and test methods for residential and commercial buildings. Testing methods have been focused on processes of reconciliation between a simulation model and the short-term test results. Jay previously worked at the Colorado School of Mines as an assistant professor, researching thermal modeling of buildings and measurement of heat transfer processes in buildings.

Craig Christensen — Senior Engineer III

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7510
B.S. and M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University

Craig was hired at NREL in 1979. He currently leads the Energy Analysis efforts for the Building America Program and supports Solar Buildings research efforts at NREL. A major project is the development of a building energy optimization methodology for use with various existing simulation programs. The resulting software allows automatic optimization of a wide range of energy-related building features and renewable energy systems. Craig has also led many projects at NREL related to residential and commercial buildings, active solar systems, passive solar design, energy conservation, and computer modeling of buildings, systems, and components. He originated the concept of the unglazed transpired solar collector at NREL and participated in research which led to an R&D100 Award and Popular Science "Best of What's New" award in 1994. Prior to joining NREL, Craig worked as a solar consultant, individually and in a small mechanical engineering firm. He also worked for 3 years for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a scientist and officer on oceanographic ships.

Mary Colvin — Buildings Technology Manager

Building Technologies Program
(303) 384-7511
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Sacramento

Mary started at NREL in 1995 as a staff engineer in the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). For 10 years, she was responsible for providing technical assistance on Federal energy efficiency projects, development of new program areas within FEMP, line management of the FEMP staff, and technology manager of FEMP. In January of 2005, she became the Technology Manager for Building Technologies. Mary has published and presented papers on new construction energy savings performance contracting methodology and the use of utility programs to increase energy efficiency within the Federal sector. She received a Federal Energy and Water Management Award in 1998 for her technical support for FEMP's first new construction Energy Saving Performance Contract (ESPC) project. As Technology Manager, Mary manages all of the work across NREL that supports the Building Technologies Program for DOE. Prior to joining NREL, Mary worked at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District as a mechanical engineer in the Advanced and Renewable Technologies group, where she promoted commercialization and implementation of renewable and advanced energy efficiency applications. She is a member of AEE and has been a Certified Energy Manager for the past 9 years.

Leila Dagher — Research Assistant

Technical Applications Center
(303) 275-3805
MBA Finance
B.S. Electrical Engineering

Leila Dagher is currently a PhD student in Mineral Economics at the Colorado School of Mines where she is also working as a recitation leader for the course "Principles of Economics." She has been working at NREL as a research assistant since November 2005, assisting on Home Performance with ENERGY STAR and Building America Existing Homes related projects. Prior to starting her PhD, she has worked as an electrical engineer consultant for residential and commercial projects.

Michael Deru — Senior Engineer I

Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems
(303) 384-7503
Ph.D. & M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Wyoming

Michael was hired at NREL in 2000. He has worked with the High Performance Building Initiative since starting at NREL. Michael's expertise is in building energy simulation, computational thermal analysis, and data acquisition. He has been responsible for the development and maintenance of the SUNREL building energy simulation program, which received copyright registration in 2002. He has also been involved with the design and monitoring of several high performance buildings. This work has led to the development of protocols for monitoring building energy performance. In addition, he led the effort to create and house a U.S. Life Cycle Inventory Database at NREL. Michael started working with NREL as a graduate student at CSU upgrading SUNREL and developing a computer program for ground-coupled heat and moisture transfer. Prior to joining NREL, Michael worked with Westinghouse Electric Corporation training Navy personnel in the theory and operation of nuclear submarines and surface ships.

Mark Eastment — Engineer II

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7496
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Mark began work at NREL in 1997 as a student intern while completing his B.S in Mechanical Engineering at CSM. As an intern Mark performed commercial building simulations using DOE2.1E for NREL's High Performance Buildings Program. He stayed at NREL as an intern after graduation until finding his first engineering job for a local manufacturing firm in 1999. Mark returned to NREL in 2000 to assist the NREL Solar Decathlon team. During the two year project Mark's main responsibilities included developing the rule set and scoring system for the project and acting as webmaster for the solar decathlon Web site. He was successful in leading weekly group planning meetings for the two years prior to the final stage of the project. Mark also had the opportunity to visit each of the 14 university teams during the project in order to get feedback from each team on how the project was progressing. Mark also ordered numerous pieces of equipment for the data acquisition systems that were used to score each team's solar powered home. During the three week event where 14 university teams transported, assembled and operated solar powered homes on the National Mall in Washington, DC Mark participated by assisting the installation and troubleshooting of data acquisition equipment, resolving rules and code conflicts and event operation responsibilities. Current areas of research in the Building America program include field testing and evaluating the performance of advanced evaporative cooling equipment and residential appliance modeling.

Peter Ellis — Engineer II

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7443
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois
B.A. Physics, Carleton College

Peter was hired at NREL in 2003. Peter spends much of his time developing and implementing new simulation models for the DOE-sponsored EnergyPlus program. While at NREL, he has developed models for flat-plate solar collectors, hot water storage tanks, and controls for limiting electrical demand. Peter also uses EnergyPlus to perform whole-building energy analyses for high performance buildings. Projects have ranged from the proposed World Trade Center Freedom Tower to an off-the-grid, passive solar educational field station and dormitory. Peter also researches new methods and interfaces that can be used to help incorporate energy-efficient practices and technologies during the earliest phases of the design process. Prior to joining NREL, Peter received his Master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he worked as an EnergyPlus developer since 2000. While a graduate student, he developed models for Trombe walls, tubular daylighting devices, and daylighting shelves. Peter also serves as a board member and secretary for the USA Affiliate of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA-USA).

Marcia Fratello — Administrative Assistant II

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7440

Marcia was hired at NREL in 1999. As an Administrative Assistant for the Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems, she supports the Technology Manager for the Buildings Technology Program as well as the Project Leader for the Building America Program. With over 20 years of administrative experience, her skills are excellent and she has the ability to assist with much more than just word processing and filing. Marcia is the Center's liaison for NREL's Records Management Program. She coordinates the shipment of field test equipment to and from Building America test sites. She schedules meetings held in the Thermal Test Facility Conference Room. She does various projects with little instruction and completes them in a timely manner. She also assists other Center personnel as needed.

Leslie Gardner — Senior Internet Developer

Program Support Office
(303) 275-4239
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Colorado State University

Leslie Gardner, a Senior Internet Developer, has worked at NREL for 18 years, has been a member for the Web Team for 9 years, and is currently Team Leader. She manages both the NREL Web site and is part of the team that developed the template and standards for the DOE/EERE Web site. She works with many various laboratories and contractors on EERE Web standards. In addition, Leslie is the Web Producer on various subsites such as Building America (one of her favorites!). She is working on her MBA in Marketing at Regis University in Denver.

Keith Gawlik — Senior Engineer

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7515
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder
B.S. and M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Keith Gawlik is a Senior Engineer at NREL. His background is in mechanical engineering and he has been involved in the analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in solar and geothermal applications and has also worked in the field of machine design. He has taught undergraduate courses in thermodynamics and the thermal behavior of buildings at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His Ph.D. dissertation work led to the issuance of a patent on low-conductance transpired solar collectors. He also holds two patents on chemical application systems and one on transpired fin heat exchangers with NREL researcher Chuck Kutscher. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado. His work in the geothermal field has been in the study of heat exchangers and power cycles. Ongoing field tests of polymer coatings for heat exchanger tubes and other process equipment have shown that using low-cost coatings on carbon steel substrates can result in significant life-cycle cost savings compared to the use of corrosion-resistant alloys. One coating, polyphenylenesulphide used with a variety of fillers to improve mechanical and thermal properties, was developed and commercialized in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory and two industry partners. The technology won an R&D 100 Award in 2002. He has analyzed the use of mixed hydrocarbon working fluids in geothermal binary cycle power plants, modeled combinations of geothermal plants and gas turbines, and has studied novel designs for air-cooled condensers. He has published a number of papers in the geothermal and solar energy literature.

Brent Griffith — Senior Engineer I

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7395
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of California Berkeley

Brent was hired at NREL in 2002. He researches energy-efficient buildings within the Center's High Performance Buildings group. This group focuses on process change issues and case studies of the most efficient commercial buildings. Brent is currently using a next-generation, building energy simulation program called EnergyPlus. He also specializes in data analysis and visualization using a sophisticated scientific data language called IDL. He has broad expertise in both experimental and computational research in buildings, heat transfer and fluids. Prior to joining NREL, Brent did his graduate study at MIT in the Building Technology Program with thesis work in the area of coupling room airflow modeling to building energy calculations. Before returning to graduate school, Brent spent ten years as a research associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the Building Technologies Program. His prior work experience includes measuring and modeling the thermal performance of windows, non-contact infrared temperature measurements, thermal insulation, and laboratory thermal test chambers. He has experience in managing projects and machine shop and laboratory facilities. Brent led early development of an advanced thermal insulation technology called Gas-Filled Panels that is now commercialized and received an R&D 100 award in 2001.

Bob Hendron — Senior Engineer

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7454
M.B.A. Marketing, University of Illinois
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Washington University - St. Louis
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois

Bob Hendron was hired at NREL in 1999 and currently supports the technical efforts for Building America and the Residential Building Codes and Standards programs. Building America works in partnership with the residential building industry to develop and implement innovative building processes and technologies that save homeowners millions of dollars in energy costs. NREL serves as Field Manager for the program, oversees the work of four Building America teams, provides R&D and field test support, and plays a national leadership role in bioclimatic design for residential buildings. Bob's efforts have been focused on house performance analysis and testing, air distribution, and advanced building envelopes. Bob also leads the technical assistance activities for NREL in support of the Residential Building Codes and Standards program, which works with national code development bodies to remove barriers to energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, improve and strengthen model energy codes, and facilitate the state and local adoption of these model codes. Previously, Bob worked in various offices at the U.S. Department of Energy, and in the Laser Systems group at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Company.

Ali Jalalzadeh-Azar, P.E. — Senior Engineer

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7562

Dr. Jalalzadeh is a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) where he has led the combined heat and power (CHP) research activities and currently supports the Building America (BA) Program as a researcher and technical monitor. Since joining NREL in 2001, he has initiated and conducted numerous analytical, experimental, and field-study projects in the areas of CHP and HVAC. He received an ASHRAE Best Paper Award in 2004 and ASHRAE Crosby Field Award in 2005 for two of his technical papers. His current research activities in the BA Program include evaluation of indoor air distribution with respect to HVAC system energy efficiency and indoor air quality. Prior to joining NREL, Dr. Jalalzadeh was a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Mississippi State University (MSU). During his academic career at MSU, he taught undergraduate and graduate courses, played a lead role in DOE/industry-funded R&D projects on desiccant dehumidification and high-temperature thermal energy storage technologies, and performed energy analyses for industrial facilities. His experience also includes several years of engineering practice with architectural/engineering firms. Dr. Jalalzadeh is an active member of ASHRAE and ASME. He is currently the chair of an ASHRAE Research Subcommittee.

Gary Jorgensen

(303) 384-6113
M.S. Physics, University of Colorado
B.S. Physics, Seton Hall University

Gary Jorgensen has research expertise that includes durability testing of materials and devices for renewable energy technologies. This testing includes in-laboratory accelerated-exposure testing and outdoor testing at an international network of exposure sites. Gary is co-inventor/developer of NREL's ultra-accelerated natural sunlight exposure test facility. He also has expertise in optical thin films design, optical measurements and analysis, radiometric modeling, electro-optical system development and integration, automated interferometric fringe analysis and image processing, structural and thermal analyses, and mechanical testing.

Ron Judkoff — Center Director

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7520
Masters in Architecture, Columbia University, NYC

Ron came to NREL in 1978 from BNNL where he was conducting research in energy efficiency and solar technologies for application in buildings. Ron's areas of expertise are 1) modeling, simulation, and measurement of building energy performance 2) design of highly energy efficient and solar buildings, and 3) development of validation and diagnostic methods for building energy software. Ron has won a number of prestigious awards for his work at NREL including: a) 1990 NREL Outstanding Achievement Award for developing test methods and a test facility for rapid and accurate determination of the key thermal parameters in manufactured buildings; b) 1991 Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for developing weatherization methods that increased cost effectiveness by a factor of 5 in manufactured buildings; c) 1997 Energy User News Efficient Building Award for "energy design" of the NREL SERF; d) 1999 ASHRAE Technology Award for "energy design" of the NREL Thermal Test Facility; e) 2001 American Institute of Architects Top Ten Green Projects Award for "energy design" of the Zion National Park Visitor Center; f) 2001 Federal Energy and Water Management Award for "energy design" of the Zion National Park Visitor Center; g) 2002 Federal Energy Saver Showcase Award for "energy design" of the NREL TTF. Ron holds a copyright for the SUNREL building energy simulation software licensed by New York State ERDA as the building physics module within ERDA's TREAT software. Ron was lead author of the first ANSI/ASHRAE Standard Method of Test for Building Energy Software. He chairs ASHRAE Standing Standards Committee 140 and IEA SHC Task 22 on development of validation methods for building energy simulation computer programs. He has authored over 70 publications in the professional and popular literature. During his tenure as Center Director his people have won two R&D 100 Awards, and the Center has grown in FTE staffing and budget authority.

Chuck Kutscher — Principal Engineer

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7521
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado

Chuck has broad experiment in the development of innovative solutions that improve the efficiency of thermal systems, including applications in solar hot water systems, solar space heating systems, thermally activated cooling systems, evaporative cooling systems, and geothermal power systems. Most recently, Chuck has led the development of a tabbed fin heat exchanger that enhances heat transfer in tube and fin heat exchangers without incurring a offsetting penalty in increased pressure drop.

Se-Hee Lee — Senior Scientist

Materials Science Center
(303) 384-6559
Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University
M.S. and B.S. Metallurgical Engineering, Seoul National University

Dr. Se-Hee Lee's primary research interests involve the investigation of the electro-optical and electrochemical properties of transition metal oxides, as well as their micro-structural characteristics. His laboratory expertise is extensive and includes thin-film deposition (evaporation, sputtering, PE-CVD, sol-gel synthesis), electro-optic characterization, AC impedance spectroscopy, and electrochemical deposition and analyses techniques. Se-Hee holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Seoul National University and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University. He joined NREL in 1997 as a postdoctoral research associate working on fundamental studies of electrochromic materials and became a staff research scientist in 1999. He is currently a Senior Scientist in the Materials Science Center. During his tenure at NREL, Se-Hee has been engaged in the research and development of a variety of technical subjects: solid-state nano-composite supercapacitors for optical modulation and energy storage, solid-state thin-film lithium batteries, ion-insertion mechanisms in advanced materials, monolithic photovoltaic/electrochromic technology, fundamental aspects of electrochromic window degradation, fiber-optic hydrogen sensors based on chemochromic actuation, and novel opto-electronic phenomena involving nanoscale materials. He has gained international recognition for his technical contributions with more than 50 professional publications to his credit. He is a member of the Electrochemical Society and is the holder of four U.S. patents and has four patents pending.

Nicholas Long — Engineer I

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-6183
B.S. Electrical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Nick started at NREL as a student intern in 2001 and was later hired full-time in 2003. He spends the majority of his time developing the commercial building optimization program. The program uses EnergyPlus to navigate through a parameter space of energy design measures to select the most cost effective and energy efficient building. Nick has programming experience in several languages including: Delphi, Fortran, Visual Basic, VBA, Macromedia Flash, and VHDL. While at NREL, he has also developed an online weather database, an online EnergyPlus example file generator, and has contributed to several building analyses projects. Nick also won the ASHRAE Willis Carrier Best Paper Award for his research on consumptive water use in U.S. power plants.

Tim Merrigan — Senior Program Manager II

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7349
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University
B.A. Physics, Rollins College

Tim joined NREL in March 1999 as the Technology Manager for the Solar Heat and Buildings Technologies Program. His current responsibilities include managing research in solar heating and zero energy buildings. Prior to joining NREL, Tim was with the Florida Solar Energy Center for 20 years, directing research in solar thermal systems and building energy efficiency. Tim is currently the vice-chair of the ASHRAE technical committee for Solar Energy Utilization and the secretary/treasurer of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association. Tim is also a member of the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) and the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials (IAPMO). A registered Professional Engineer, Tim is a licensed general and mechanical contractor in the state of Florida.

Judy Netter — Senior Engineering Technician

Materials Science Center
(303) 384-6258
B.S. Engineering Technology, St. Cloud State University

Judy joined NREL in February 1994. Her specialties involve designing, fabricating and modifying prototype experimental equipment and their programs and controls. Over the years, this has included countless tests in solar collectors, concentrators, receivers, the condensation of mixed working fluids for geothermal technology, photo catalysis, and building technologies. She is also involved in the lifetime durability testing of electrochromic windows, thin films, PV cells, and polymers. Other areas of research consist of the design and fabrication of multiple accelerated weathering chambers for use at NREL's High Flux Solar Furnace for testing the degradation of polymer coatings. She has also done work with the Advance Vehicles group with the Advanced Power Electronics Team. Prior to NREL, Judy was involved with installing and programming building automation, FLS, and security systems.

Paul Norton — Senior Engineer I

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7545
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Syracuse University

Paul was hired at NREL in 1995. His work focuses on performance analysis of energy efficient homes and commercial buildings through short-term testing and long-term monitoring. He has authored and coauthored technical reports on building performance, thermal mass, testing practices, and home PV analysis methods. Prior to joining the Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems in 2001, Paul published and presented research on alternative fuel trucks and buses as part of NREL's Center for Transportation Technologies and Systems. He received an Outstanding Performance Award for his work in 1997. Prior to joining NREL, Paul informed state legislative actions as a technical analyst for the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL).

J. Roland Pitts — Senior Scientist and Team Leader

Materials Science Center
(303) 384-6485
Ph.D. Physics, University of Denver
M.S. Physics, Oregon Graduate Center
B.S. Physics, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Roland Pitts is a Senior Scientist and leader of the Optoelectronics Team in the Materials Science Center. He has been at the Solar Energy Research Institute/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) since 1978. He has contributed to a wide array of projects, spanning the major areas of research at the laboratory. His principal areas of expertise are in solid-state physics, materials science, and surface and interface studies of thin films. He is currently working on dynamically controlled glazings for high-performance windows, fiber-optic-based hydrogen sensors, and novel thin-film battery materials. Roland has published more than 90 papers in the peer-reviewed literature and holds 8 U.S. patents. In 1982, he was recognized with an Award for Technical Excellence from the Department of Energy. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Plank-Gesellschaft in Berlin (1985-1986). From 1986 through 1997, he studied very high-flux photothermal reactions with solar furnaces and developed a number of high-flux materials processes. In 1992, Roland received an NREL Staff Award for Outstanding Performance. His biography appears in American Men and Women of Science, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, and Who's Who in America. He is a member of the American Physical Society, the American Vacuum Society, and the Materials Research Society.

Shanti Pless — Engineer I

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-6365
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Alfred University

Shanti started working full time at NREL in 2002. He has worked with the High Performance Building team since starting at NREL. Shanti's expertise is in PV and building energy simulation, commercial building evaluation and commissioning, and data acquisition. He has been responsible for the energy performance evaluation of several high profile, low energy commercial buildings. He has authored or co-authored 16 peer reviewed technical and conference papers on low-energy commercial buildings.

Patricia Plympton — Senior Project Leader

Technical Applications Center
(202) 646-5214
M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering
B.S. Mechanical Engineering and B.A. Applied Science

Patricia Plympton has 10 years of experience at NREL in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in a variety of applications. In 1999, Patricia authored A National Status Report on Home Energy Ratings Systems and Energy Efficient Mortgages. She also served as project manager for the award-winning Energy Design Guidelines for High Performance Schools for nine climate zones. She currently serves on the Building Performance Institutes Technical Committee and ACI Planning Committee.

Lauren Poole — Communicator II

Program Support Office
(303) 384-7466
B.A. Journalism and Political Science, University of New Mexico

Lauren is a Communicator II at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Lauren develops communications and research documentation for the Commercial Buildings Research Team and the Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems. In her 8 years at NREL, Lauren has also provided communications expertise to the National Center for Photovoltaics and the National Biofuels Program. Lauren has almost 20 years experience in the publishing field, including writing and editing articles, research papers, brochures, fact sheets, and Web sites. She also helps research staff with communications planning; media outreach; and exhibits. Prior to joining NREL, Lauren worked as a reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper and as a freelance writer for both national and state magazines.

Roya Stanley — Senior Project Manager

Technical Applications Center
(303) 275-3057
MBA Colorado State University
Bachelor Degree from University of Illinois

Roya Stanley is a Senior Project Manager for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. She works closely with state, local business and agricultural groups providing up to date information on renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and policy practices. Prior to moving to NREL, Roya worked for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for 18 years, 16 of which were with the state energy office. During that time she contributed to the development of the Iowa Building Energy Management Program which has resulted in over $150 million in investment in energy efficiency, contributed to the development of the switchgrass initiative which has laid the groundwork for a cellulosic fuel of the future, and contributed to the crafting of Iowa's RPS resulting in wind development in Iowa that has exceeded the requirement. Her last two years with the DNR were spent as the Administrator for the Waste Management Assistance Division, connecting energy to environmental impacts. Decision making, using up-to-date analysis and policy assessment, was a hallmark of these Iowa efforts and one of the critical factors to achieving policy change and program results.

Paul A. Torcellini — Senior Engineer II

Buildings and Thermal Systems Center
(303) 384-7528
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Paul was hired at NREL in 1994 and is currently the Building's Team Leader. Paul also leads the efforts of the High Performance Research Initiative. This effort is dedicated to studying the behavior of low-energy buildings both on the design side as well as the performance side. Most of these buildings have an energy reduction of 50% or more when compared to applicable energy codes. Paul works with developing design methods such that energy features are integral to the building design and these features are properly implemented. The research concentrates on envelope design, daylighting strategies, control strategies, and HVAC design, as well as establishing metrics for measuring building performance. Prior to joining NREL, Paul was an Assistant Professor at Youngstown State University. Paul holds a Master's degree and Ph.D. from Purdue University specializing in passive solar design and control of commercial buildings. He is also a registered Professional Engineer and Adjunct Professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Among his many awards, Paul has received two ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers) Technology Awards for his High Performance buildings work and two Energy User News Magazine's Efficient Building Awards. Paul received a 2000 NREL Staff Award for Outstanding Community and Professional Service.

C. Edwin Tracy — Senior Scientist

Materials Science Center
(303) 384-6455
B.A. Physical Science, College of New Jersey

Upon completion of his B.A. in Physical Science in 1968 (magna cum laude) from the College of New Jersey, Ed joined RCA Labs in Princeton, NJ, as a Research Associate and worked on a variety of pioneering projects, including surface ion depletion of glass, injection of ions into glass from a glow discharge, dc-plasma deposition of amorphous materials, and basic studies of the thermoelectric effects of ion-conducting glasses. In 1980 Ed joined NREL as a Staff Scientist to investigate large-scale thermoelectric energy generation based on thin-film BiTe alloys. During his tenure at NREL, he has participated in solar-related research on a number of important developments. He is currently a Senior Scientist in the Materials Science Center working on research and development of fiber optic H2 sensors, solid-state thin-film lithium ion batteries, and accelerated durability testing of electrochromic window devices. His expertise includes thin-film synthesis and characterization, optics and electro-optics, vacuum technology, and materials processing in the semiconductor/integrated circuit, photovoltaic, thermoelectric, electrochromic, and solar thermal technology areas. In 1981 Ed received a NASA Certificate of Recognition for TiO2 based spray-on AR coatings for solar cells. In 1988 he was nominated for IPO's Inventor of the Year Award for a Laser Sealed Vacuum Insulation Window. In 1989 he was elected to the Wall of Fame by the Board of Education in his hometown of South River, NJ, for outstanding accomplishments in the field of science. In 1996 he was part of a team that received an R&D 100 award and a Discover Magazine finalist award for the development of a vacuum-insulated catalytic converter. In 1997 Ed received two awards for his technology transfer activities from the Federal Laboratory Consortium and the Colorado Tech Transfer Society. In 2000 DOE recognized him for his technical contributions to the catalytic converter project, which was selected for the Energy 23 Award (top 23 scientific accomplishments in DOE's 23-year history). Ed is very active in science education activities at the high school level and for the past several years has served as a judge for the Colorado State Science Fair and as a moderator for DOE's National Science Bowl. Ed currently holds 26 U.S. patents and 9 foreign patents and has 6 patents pending. He has authored or co-authored more than 85 technical publications and is a member of the ECS, AVS, and SPIE societies.

Nancy Wells — Technical Editor and Writer

Program Support Office
(303) 384-7429
Ph.D. Natural Resources, University of Michigan
Masters Biology, Western Michigan University
B.S. Zoology, Michigan State University

Nancy is a technical editor and writer in the Program Support Office (Communications) at NREL. She is responsible for Building America communications at NREL and has many years of technical communications experience. Her science-related education includes a B.S. in Zoology, a Masters in Biology, and a PhD in Natural Resources.

Stefanie Woodward — Technical Editor and Writer

Program Support Office
B.A. English, University of Utah
(303) 275-3288

Stefanie is a technical editor and writer in the Program Support Office (Communications) at NREL. She is responsible for Building Technology communications at NREL and has many years of technical communications experience. In her 12 years at NREL, Stefanie has also provided communications expertise in the areas of biofuels, transportation, wind, and in the corporate group.