John Barnett

John Barnett is a member of the Energy Management and Federal Markets Group in the Strategic Energy Analysis and Applications Center.

Senior Project Leader
On staff since 2007
Phone number: 303-384-7469
E-mail: john_barnett@nrel.gov

Areas of expertise

• Technical and economic aspects of energy efficiency/renewable energy applications at government installations
• Energy Savings Performance Contracting; special interest in performance period troubleshooting
• Community-level sustainability (energy, water and transportation infrastructure options)

Primary research interests

• Financing alternatives for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, including legislative/regulatory support structures
• Approaches to site screening for energy efficiency/renewable energy/emerging technology applications
• Design and implementation of measures to maximize local use of renewable energy resources as a contribution to community-level sustainability

Education and background training

• Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, 1985
• M.A. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, 1981
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Rice University, 1979

Prior work experience

• Senior Technical Director, U.S. Air Force Space Command/595th Space Group, Colorado Springs, CO (2004-2007)
• Research Staff Member, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, VA (1995-2004)
• Director, Global Security and Transportation Programs, Rocky Mountain Institute, Snowmass, CO (1991-95)
• Staff Member and Supervisor, Electric Propulsion and Plasma Technology Group, NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (1988-91)

Selected publications

Barnett, J. (2004). "Insight Into Foreign Thoughtworlds for National Security Decision Makers," IDA Document 2665, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, VA. January.

Barnett, J. (1999). "Sustainable Development: Contributions to National Security and International Stability," presentation to the Workshop on Ozone Layer and Climate Preservation Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam. September.

Lovins, A., J. Barnett, L. Hunter Lovins. (1993). "Supercars: The Coming Light Vehicle Revolution," paper presented at the summer study of the European Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Rungstedgård, Denmark, June 1993 (Paper awarded the Nissan prize as one of three best papers at the Int'l. Symposium on Automotive Technology and Automation in Aachen, Germany)

Brophy, J., J. Barnett, et al. (1993). "Performance of the [Russian] Stationary Plasma Thruster SPT-100," paper presented at the 29th AIAAA/SAE/ASME Joint Propulsion Conf, Monterey, CA, June. (Paper named best electric propulsion paper of the conference)

Personal interests/hobbies

• The Japanese martial art, aikido; music (jazz pianist); languages (Russian, Japanese, Farsi)