Research Staff
Below is a listing of the NREL wind research staff organized in alphabetical order.
Jim Adams
Master Research Technician, National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6995
Jim was hired at NREL in 1997 as a machinist, and his work was instrumental in upgrading the Advanced Research Turbine and the Unsteady Aerodynamics Experimental Turbine. Jim continues to develop field measurement systems and major hardware components for wind turbines, including gearbox assemblies, drivetrains, rotor hubs, towers, and blades. He has provided design support along with maintenance and calibration services to ongoing projects and most recently has worked on the Clipper 3.6-MW prototype turbine located outside of Laramie, Wyoming. Prior to joining NREL, Jim worked as a senior machinist for several companies in Kansas and Colorado.
Ian Baring-Gould
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Mechanical Engineering with a focus on RE technologies, University of Massachusetts
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts
Phone: 202-586-9136
Ian was hired at NREL in 1997 but started as a contract employee in 1995. Ian's work has focused on two primary areas: applications engineering for RE technologies and international assistance in RE uses. His applications work concentrates on innovative uses of RE, primarily the modeling, testing, and monitoring of small power systems; end-use applications; and large diesel plant retrofit concepts. International technical assistance has focused on energy development for rural populations, including the design, analysis, and implementation of remote power systems. Ian continues to manage and provide general technical expertise to international programs. He also sits on IEA and IEC technical boards, is an editor for Wind Engineering, and has written more than 35 publications. His graduate research centered on the Hybrid2 software hybrid power system design, code validation, and the installation of the University's 250-kW ESI-80 wind turbine.
Ruth Baranowski
Senior Communicator
M.S., Technical Communications, University of Colorado at Denver
B.A., Mass Communications, Colorado State University - Pueblo
Phone: 303-384-6973
Ruth has worked at NREL since 2002. In 2003 she relocated to the National Wind Technology Center to serve as the communications representative for the Wind Powering America program. As part of the program's technology acceptance activities, she is tasked with wind energy outreach to Native Americans and the rural, agricultural, public power, and distributed wind communities. She also manages WPA communications subcontracts and responds to outreach-related requests from the state Wind Working Groups.
Prior to joining NREL, Ruth was a quality assurance editor for e-learning courses, the associate editor of a bi-weekly business journal, and a freelance writer, editor, and Web designer.
Gunjit Bir
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland
B.Tech., Aerospace Engineering, IIT, India
Phone: 303-384-6953
Gunjit joined NREL in 1994. He led the development of SymDyn, the first wind turbine aeroelastic code to provide state-space models and aid multivariable control design. He developed advanced analysis tools, such as Floquet analysis and modal correlation packages, and a composite blade design code. Gunjit investigated loads and dynamics of several wind turbines; managed subcontracts; and provided design, review, and analysis support to wind industry programs. Currently, he is leading dynamics validation of Rotorcraft Comprehensive Analysis System (RCAS), a code that resulted from an 18-year cooperative effort among NASA, the U.S. Army, and the helicopter industry. If validated, it will provide comprehensive modeling and analysis tools for the wind industry.
His prior experience includes consultation to NASA and the U.S. Army on cockpit weapons simulation, system integration, and development of next-generation rotorcraft codes. At the University of Maryland, he taught Aircraft Dynamics, led the development of UMARC aeroelastic code, and analyzed new concepts, including bearingless and swept-blade rotors. At the National Aerospace Laboratory in India, he led the Experimental Aeroelasticity Group in the design of data acquisition systems, dynamic testing of satellites, and flutter testing of several launch vehicle models in the subsonic/transonic/supersonic wind tunnels.
Lori Bird
Senior Analyst
M.E.S., Environmental Management, Yale University
B.A., Economics and Environmental Studies, Indiana University
Phone: 303-384-7412
Lori has provided NREL with expertise in market analysis and policy analysis since 1999. Her primary research interests are renewable energy and carbon markets, renewable energy policy, and the interplay of emissions and renewables policies. Prior to joining NREL, Lori was a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy Denver Regional Support Office and for Hagler Bailly Consulting in Boulder, Colorado.
Amy Bowen
Phone: 303-384-6931
Marshall Buhl
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
B.S., Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida
Phone: 303-384-6914
Marshall joined NREL in 1979 as a programmer in the Scientific Applications Group, where he wrote programs and set up data-acquisition systems for many technology areas in the laboratory. In 1986, he transferred to the Wind Program. For the first five years, he managed the program's computer systems. In 1991, he started taking on more engineering duties as a user and developer of wind turbine aeroelastic codes. He developed or helped develop commonly used codes such as WT_Perf, Crunch, FAST, AeroDyn, YawDyn, GPP, and TurbSim. Marshall performed code verification studies that resulted in a certificate of suitability for the FAST and ADAMS codes from the world's foremost wind turbine certifying body, Germanischer Lloyd. Most recently, he has been working in offshore wind and has been designing a baseline 3-MW turbine to be used for offshore analyses.
Prior to joining NREL, Marshall worked at NASA-JSC (Houston) as an engineer analyzing the entry flight dynamics of the Space Shuttle Orbiter and at Martin Marietta developing a real-time, man-in-the-loop simulator for a space tug.
Stacey Burge
Administrative Assistant, National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6921
Stacey joined NREL in 2000 as an Administrative Assistant for the Applied Research division of the NWTC. She is currently the lead administrative assistant. In this capacity, she balances the administrative work load and provides direct support for the NWTC management team, which includes logistics and planning for major wind meetings and conferences, travel support, and site tours. Stacey regularly works with DOE Wind and Hydropower program staff in Washington, D.C., and often deals with external stakeholders and the general public requesting wind energy information. Prior to joining NREL, Stacey worked for a private ambulance service. She continues to pursue a B.A. in Communications at Regis University and is expected to finish in 2007.
Sandy Butterfield
Principal Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Structures and Fluids, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Phone: 303-384-6902
Sandy was hired in 1986. After completing his master's degree in 1977 at the Ocean engineering department of the University of Massachusetts, he accepted a position with Rockwell International as a test engineer and design reviewer at DOE's Small Turbine Test Center at Rocky Flats. This experience exposed him to nearly all the small wind turbine designs under development in the late '70s. In 1980 he became a cofounder of Energy Sciences Inc. As vice president of engineering he was responsible for design and manufacturing of ESI's wind turbine product line. After the company was sold in 1985, he decided to return to research and took a job with NREL (SERI at the time) managing the Boeing MOD 2 program. Since then he developed the Comprehensive (aerodynamics) Experiment, which later became the Unsteady Aerodynamics Experiment; led the applied research team; acted as the Chief Engineer for the turbine research program; led many design reviews; led the standards program in the United States; developed the wind turbine certification program for the United States; developed a business relationship with Underwriters Laboratory (UL); and privatized the certification program into UL's services.
Currently, Sandy is responsible for the NWTC Certification program, Standards, Code Development Team, Controls Team, and Utility Integration Analysis Team.
Palmer Carlin
Senior Electrical Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder
M.S., Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder
Ph.D., Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder
Phone: 303-384-6945
Palmer was hired in 1986. In the fall of 1977, he took a year and half leave of absence from his professorship in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Colorado to assist in the creation of what has become the Wind Energy Test Site in the buffer zone adjacent to the Rocky Flats Atomic Energy Installation. During the next decade he kept in touch through occasional consulting at the Test Site. In 1986, he took early retirement from the University and was hired as a full-time employee at the Test Site. Early duties included engineering tests of local turbines at the wind site as well as membership of a traveling Design Review team that oversaw wind turbine subcontractors. Later responsibilities included about 5 years as Associate Technical Editor for Wind Energy Conversion in the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Another later duty was that of Operating Agent for Annex 13 of the International Energy Association Executive Committee for the Cooperation in the Development of Large-Scale Wind Systems. Following this, his work with the NREL low-speed, direct-coupled wind turbine resulted in several reports and papers, including Analytic Expressions for Maximum Wind Turbine Average Power in Rayleigh Wind Regime, (Carlin, 1997 AIAA Proceedings) and Some Analysis of Energy Production from the NWTC Variable Speed Test Bed, (Carlin and Fingersh, 1999 AIAA Proceedings). The former was awarded Best Conference Paper at the annual 1997 ASME Wind Energy Symposium. He has recently worked with the Wind Powering America project at State workshops and with Alan Laxson and Eduard Muljadi on a soon-to-be-published History of Variable-Speed Operation of Wind Turbines.
Corrie Christol
Administrative Assistant, National Wind Technology Center
A.A., Santa Rosa Junior College
Phone: 303-384-6962
Corrie was hired in 2002 as the receptionist for the NWTC. Since then, she has progressively moved into positions that require more responsibility, including supporting the Applied Research Team. She has coordinated several program conferences and has tracked programmatic activities. Corrie is working with the Wind Powering America Team, handling subcontracts, staff travel, budgets, and projects. She is scheduled to complete her degree in Linguistics from the University of Colorado in Boulder in December 2006. Prior to joining NREL, Corrie was employed as a customer service representative for Albertsons.
Beverly Cisneros
Administrative Assistant, National Wind Technology Center
Trinidad State Junior College
Phone: 303-384-6979
Beverly joined NREL in 2004 as the NWTC receptionist and a year later was hired as a full-time employee. Beverly is truly the goodwill ambassador at the NWTC. Along with greeting guests and visitors, she directs people to the appropriate staff when they call with inquiries about wind energy. Beverly provides conference support and logistical coordination for staff travel as well as organizing and overseeing day-to-day office needs. Her most recent responsibilities are providing support to the Wind Powering America team, continually updating presentation material, and working with the Program Support Office to ensure timely delivery of materials for exhibitions. Prior to joining NREL, Beverly was employed by Oakridge Associated Universities, which worked on the decommissioning of Rocky Flats.
David Corbus
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
B.A., New York University
M.S., Applied Science (Mechanical Engineering), New York University (Courses completed for Ph.D.)
Phone: 303-384-6966
Dave was hired at NREL in 1991. He is currently a test engineer working on wind turbine loads testing for the Small Wind Research Turbine (SWRT) project. The SWRT project will produce the first complete set of loads and furling measurements for a small wind turbine. Dave has been involved with other wind turbine testing as well, which has included certification loads measurements, power performance testing, safety and function testing, and durations tests. Previous to being a test engineer, he worked on system design and integration for small wind systems and hybrid power systems. This work included feasibility studies, system modeling, design, system integration, and installation of small wind pilot projects in international off-grid settings. To understand the performance of these systems, Dave helped develop monitoring systems to measure important system parameters and to characterize system performance. This extensive expertise in the design and deployment of off-grid small wind systems resulted in the development of various end-use applications for these systems. Prior to working at the NWTC, Dave worked in the Analytic Studies Division at NREL conducting technology evaluations of emerging battery and fuel cell technologies.
Before coming to NREL, he worked as a mechanical engineer for Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade, and Douglas for 4 years and then Doucet and Mainka P.C. for 3 years, both private engineering consulting firms. In these positions, Dave designed air pollution control systems for various combustion applications and worked on a host of different mechanical engineering projects.
Jason Cotrell
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
B.S. & M.S., Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Phone: 303-384-7056
Jason Cotrell joined the NWTC as a graduate student intern in 1995 to design and build a two-bladed, teetered hub to fit on a 20-kW wind turbine to be tested at the NWTC and in the NASA Ames wind tunnel. After completing this project, Jason was extensively involved in reviewing and drafting studies in the NWTC WindPACT effort dealing with turbine blade scaling, advanced rotor design, and advanced drivetrain studies. He has also investigated the potential for combining wind energy and hydrogen production technologies.
Jason completed a six-month sabbatical at GE Wind Energy in Salzbergen, Germany, in 2004 and then spent one year at the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., providing technical support for the Wind Program. Most recently, Jason has been designing test equipment for the NWTC blade test and drivetrain test facilities and leading a cooperative research and development opportunity for a public/private partnership to develop a new 70-m blade test facility.
Dennis Elliott
Principal Scientist, National Wind Technology Center
M.S. Meteorology - Florida State University 1974
B.S. Meteorology - Florida State University 1972
Phone: 303-384-6935
Dennis was hired at NREL in 1994 and is a lead researcher in wind resource characterization activities. He has led numerous regional and national-scale wind energy resource assessments in the United States and abroad, and has coordinated the development and validation of new high-resolution wind resource maps for more than 30 U.S. states for the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America initiative. He has led the development of new wind resource maps for various countries of the world through projects supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, United Nations Environment Programme, and other clients. In addition, he has conducted studies in other areas of wind characterization such as offshore assessment, wind shear and tall-tower analyses at elevated heights to 100-m+, and refined methods for assessing wind potential. He has published many papers on wind resource, often with other team members in the wind resource group, including articles in the Encyclopedia of Energy and IEEE Power Engineering Review.
Prior to joining NREL, Dennis was employed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where he worked primarily in the wind energy program. During his 20 years at PNNL, he conducted many studies on wind resource assessment and wind characterization research. He lead the development of two landmark documents that became widely used by the U.S. wind energy industry: "Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United States" and "An Assessment of the Available Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential in the Contiguous United States".
Lee Jay Fingersh
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado
B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado
Phone: 303-384-6929
Lee Jay joined NREL in 1993. For 7 years he was the test engineer on the Unsteady Aerodynamics Experiment turbine, culminating in the NASA Ames wind tunnel test. During that time Lee earned his Masters doing a dynamometer test on a permanent-magnet direct-drive generator. He has worked on the design and controls for the variable-speed test bed and administered many experiments as well as being an integral part of the team that designed the dynamometer that is currently in use at the NWTC. Lee has written papers on wind, hydrogen, and battery integration. Most recently, he is working on the CART turbine, including writing its control system specifications and developing the three-bladed CART turbine, which also includes writing new control system specifications. Lee has supported many industry projects including blade tests, dynamometer tests, and full-system developments for GE, the WindTurbine Company, Clipper, Southwest WindPower, and Windward.
Larry Flowers
Principal Project Leader, National Wind Technology Center
B.S., Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Lehigh University
M.B.A., University of Denver
Phone: 303-384-6910
Larry Flowers was hired at NREL (SERI) in 1980 and has spent the past 22 years working in various technologies and applications, including solar thermal, industrial applications, buildings technologies, international applications, village power, and wind energy. He has held various positions in the management of business development, program management, and team leadership. He has been at the NWTC since 1992. His current responsibilities include village power and Wind Powering America. In 2001, he received the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA's) Special Achievement Award and NREL's Van Morris Award. Other awards that Larry has received include:
- Wind Energy Program Outstanding Technology Acceptance Award, 2005
- ACGA Heroes of Agriculture, 2004
- NREL's President's Award, 1994
Prior to NREL, Larry worked in the aluminum industry in manufacturing, applications engineering, and marketing.
Trudy Forsyth
Senior Project Leader, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Denver
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Denver
Phone: 303-384-6932
Trudy has worked in the wind technology field since May 1994 as a leader of NREL's distributed wind turbine projects. Since 1995, she has coordinated efforts between the NWTC technical staff and U.S. manufacturers for designing new small wind turbines and testing new prototypes. She served as the DOE/GO liaison and coordinator of NREL technical support for the Field Verification Project cooperative agreements, which involved testing small wind turbines against IEC standards. She has also served as the DOE/GO distributed wind turbine liaison for grant activities that involve concept studies, as well as component and prototype development.
Trudy is the NREL liaison with the AWEA Small Wind Turbine Committee, which wrote and published the AWEA Small Wind Turbine Industry Roadmap, a multi-year strategy for the small wind industry. Trudy was the secretary for an international group of experts on small turbines who revised the IEC Small Wind Turbine Safety standard (61400-2). Under the Wind Powering America program, she leads small wind stakeholders in developing strategies to open the marketplace and has made small wind turbine technical and state policy/market presentations to wind audiences throughout the United States.
Trudy is currently part of the National Organizing Committee for ASES 2007, is a member of the Small Wind Certification Corporation, and serves on the steering committee for Women of Wind Energy.
She has received an NREL 2003 Staff Award for Outstanding Community and Professional Service and special recognition from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council for her strategies to promote the use of renewable energy.
Trudy has authored and co-authored technical conference papers on small wind turbines, their design features, economics, and commonalities in the U.S. marketplace between PV and small wind. She has given numerous presentations to both international audiences and the general public on distributed wind technology, economics, and applications.
Prior to her career in wind turbine technology, she worked for the aerospace company Martin Marietta for 10 years in a variety of engineering capacities.
Vahan Gevorgian
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6940
Bruce Green
Senior Science Communicator
M.S., Environmental Science, University of Illinois
B.A., Policy Analysis and Communications, Ohio University
Post Grad., Engineering Physics (one year), Colorado School of Mines
Phone: 303-275-3621
Bruce originally worked at SERI from 1978 until 1981, conducting policy analysis. He returned to NREL in 1993 as a communications specialist after working in several advanced technology companies during the interim. He worked as the NREL communications and outreach liaison to the former DOE Office of Power Technologies, and he subsequently served in the same capacity for the DOE Geothermal Technologies Program until relocating to the NWTC. He has worked in the renewable energy and technology transfer area for more than 30 years, including with the State of Illinois Energy Office, managing a solar collector manufacturing company, and working in marketing for Hughes Identification Devices. He won numerous awards for NREL-produced publications from the Society for Technical Communication, International Association of Business Communicators, and National Association of Government Communicators. Bruce comes to the NWTC as the newest member of the communications team.
Jim Green
Senior Project Leader, National Wind Technology Center
B.S., General Engineering, University of Illinois
Phone: 303-384-6913
Jim was hired at NREL (SERI) in 1978 and joined the NWTC in 1992. He has managed turbine development subcontracts with small wind turbine manufacturers since 1996. These subcontracts require an iterative process of design, critical review, fabrication, and testing to develop new, more cost-effective small wind turbines. He has represented the interests of the wind industry within the IEEE P1547 standards working group, addressing interconnection of distributed resources. He also contributes to the Wind Powering America Program as a workshop speaker and as a resource on small wind applications. He has also engaged in research on small wind applications, including development of the Hybrid2 model, a detailed simulation of the performance of off-grid hybrid power systems. Prior work at NREL included research on solar thermal central receivers, solar ponds, thermal storage, and industrial process heat technologies. Throughout the 1980s, he participated in research on open-cycle ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), including the engineering design of a successful net-power-producing experiment in Hawaii, a fully-functional and grid-connected OTEC power plant.
Dorothy Haldeman
Administrative Assistant, National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6951
Dorothy joined NREL in 1996 as an administrative assistant. She currently provides direct support for the NWTC Management team, which includes assisting in planning for major wind meetings and conferences, site tours, and travel support. She oversees the logistics for foreign travel and the NWTC Weekly Report. Dorothy assisted in the Wind Powering America booth at the Illinois Renewable Energy Fair and the Midwest Renewable Energy & Sustainable Living Fair in Wisconsin. She has volunteered on Staff Council for 4 years. Prior to joining NREL, Dorothy worked as a paralegal in the legal department of Coors Brewing Company.
Maureen Hand
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2003
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1999
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1994
Phone: 303-384-6933
Maureen has been employed by NREL since 1995. She is currently investigating active control systems for utility-scale wind turbines. The potential for advanced control systems to reduce the cost of wind energy through reduction of component loads is significant, and Maureen contributes to a team of engineers pursuing this goal. Numerical modeling and control system design provides the basis for field test experiments on actual wind turbines to verify and validate new designs.
Prior to wind turbine controls research, Maureen contributed to a team of engineers experimentally investigating wind turbine aerodynamics. A small wind turbine, highly instrumented to obtain both pressure and load measurements, was rigorously tested in atmospheric conditions at the NWTC. The experiment culminated at the NASA National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex 80'x120' wind tunnel where inflow conditions were precisely controlled. Maureen's contribution included quality control, data processing, data storage, and documentation of the multi-gigabyte database that resulted from years of experimentation. Her contribution to this experiment was recognized through an NREL Outstanding Team Staff Award in 2001.
Steve Haymes
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-7012
Donna Heimiller
Phone: 303-384-7098
Scott Hughes
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-7054
Arlinda Huskey
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6987
David Jager
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6954
Mike Jenks
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6994
Tony Jimenez
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-7027
Tim Johansson
Site Operations
Phone: 303-384-6970
Garth Johnson
Phone: 303-384-7074
Jim Johnson
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado
Phone: 303-384-6989
Jim was hired at NREL in 1993. He worked as a student intern for 2 1/2 years in the structural testing group at the NWTC prior to being hired. His engineering expertise is in material science; fatigue life; and gearing, bearings, and mechanical design and testing. Currently Jim is the Site Operations engineer, an assignment that encompasses a variety of administrative oversight duties assigned at the discretion of and reporting directly to the Center Director, Bob Thresher. Prior to working at NREL, Jim worked for Sears Roebuck and Co. in a variety of middle management positions. He's extensively experienced and formally trained in personnel management; technical professional management; technician management; operations management; credit, financing, and accounting management; technical product development; and procurement.
Bonnie Jonkman
Scientist, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Mathematics, Colorado State University
B.A., Computer Science and Mathematics, Dordt College
Phone: 303-384-6907
Bonnie joined NREL in 2003 and has spent most of her time since then researching the effect of atmospheric turbulence on the dynamic response of wind turbines. She has been involved in processing and analyzing meteorological data from several experiments, including the Lamar Low-Level Jet Project. Bonnie is the lead developer of the TurbSim computer code, which numerically simulates stochastic, full-field, turbulent wind and coherent turbulent structures.
Jason Jonkman
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Dordt College
Phone: 303-384-7026
Jason joined NREL in 2000 and is the lead developer of the FAST and FAST-to-ADAMS preprocessor computer simulation software for modeling the dynamic response of land- and sea-based wind turbines. He also provides technical support to designers, consultants, and researchers throughout the wind energy industry. He has performed studies to verify and validate the simulation software, has published many papers on wind turbine modeling, and has assisted in the certification of wind turbine design loads. Jason is currently leading an IEA research annex on developing and verifying simulation models for fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind energy concepts. He is also leading a team responsible for overhauling the AeroDyn wind turbine rotor aerodynamics software library.
Prior to joining NREL, Jason worked as a researcher at DOE's Industrial Assessment Center at Colorado State University and as a tool design engineer at the commercial airplane division of Boeing.
Neil Kelley
Principal Scientist, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University
B.S., Prof. Meteorology, St. Louis University
Phone: 303-384-6923
Neil was hired at NREL (SERI) in 1977. He has led the inflow turbulence research effort since 1989. An overall objective of this research is developing a physical understanding of the role of atmospheric turbulence in the structural response of wind turbines. This effort has resulted in an improved numerical turbulence simulator used with structural design codes. Current efforts are aimed at understanding the impact of turbulent conditions found at higher altitudes where turbines are now being installed. In 1977, Neil established the original SERI Test and Measurements Group. Later he researched wind turbine low-frequency noise generation and received an NREL Outstanding Achievement Award for this work in 1981. Prior to joining NREL, Neil spent 5 years at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), supervising the development of airborne turbulence measuring platforms for which he received a special NCAR award in 1974. Previously, he was a graduate student and later a faculty member at The Pennsylvania State University, and prior to that an applied meteorologist with Meteorology Research, Inc.
Marguerite Kelly
Senior Project Manager, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Health and Medical Sciences, University of California, Berkeley
M.L.S. Library and Information Studies, University of California, Berkeley
A.B. Physiology and Zoology, University of California, Berkeley
Phone: 303-384-7441
Marguerite joined NREL (SERI) in 1979 and the Wind Powering America team in 2003. She has been responsible for developing and implementing a wide variety of large-scale projects and programs during her 28 years with NREL. She specialized in Information Technology, Geographic Information Systems, Internet, Communication and Outreach, Strategic Planning, and Deployment. Her strength is in line and project management, especially in pulling together collaborations that crosscut different technology programs and even government agencies to meet the needs of a specific group of people. In the past few years, she has worked on NREL's international projects funded through DOE, AID, and the United Nations. Her current emphasis is Wind Powering America's Priority State Outreach, Regional Wind Energy Institutes, Agricultural Outreach, Economic Development Impacts, and Wind for Schools projects.
Debra Lew
Senior Project Leader, National Wind Technology Center
PhD, Applied Physics, Stanford University
M.S., Applied Physics, Stanford University
BS, Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BS, Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Phone: 303-384-7037
Debbie joined NREL in 1995. She is a member of the Systems Integration Team, working on wind systems integration and transmission issues. She is currently leading the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study, the largest wind and solar integration study to date, that investigates operating and cost impacts of the variability and uncertainty of wind and solar power on the grid. She also works with transmission planning groups and transmission advocates in the West. Prior to rejoining the NWTC, Debbie was the group manager for NREL's Environmental and International Group, which focused on deployment of renewable energy technologies in developing countries, and the lead for NREL's China program, which focused on rural electrification, policies and programs, wind integration, and renewable energy business development. She started her work at NREL modeling and designing hybrid systems for households and villages in developing countries.
Debbie spent 2 years in Thailand at the International Institute for Energy Conservation working on climate change mitigation and increased use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies in Asia. She was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University's Center for Energy and Environmental Studies working on large-scale wind development combined with compressed air energy storage in China and the climate impacts of charcoal use in Africa. As a private consultant she has also worked on transportation fuel cycle emissions for various biomass pathways, renewable energy strategies, renewable energy policy in China, and analysis of off-grid hybrid systems.
Hal Link
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Phone: 303-384-6912
Hal was hired at NREL (SERI) in March 1984. Since 1996 he has been responsible for Certification Testing at the NWTC. In this role, he supervises a team of six engineers and technicians who test wind turbines in accordance with international (IEC/ISO) standards. These tests enable U.S. manufacturers to obtain certification for their turbines and compete in the foreign market. As part of this work, Hal has implemented a quality assurance system for the team and has obtained accreditation per ISO 17025. In prior NREL/SERI activities, he was Senior Technical Project Coordinator, responsible for oversight and technical management of three Wind Turbine Development projects worth $8.4 million. He managed the solar detoxification project, a $4 million-per-year project for which NREL obtained an R&D 100 award. Hal also operated a $1 million test facility at DOE's Seacoast Test Facility in Hawaii, where he tested innovative heat exchangers for Open-cycle Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). Prior to joining NREL/SERI, Hal worked at the U.S. Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory, where he developed innovative ship anchoring systems, and at Battelle Columbus Laboratory, where he developed underwater tools and diving equipment.
Mark Meadors
Senior Research Technician, National Wind Technology Center
B.A., Philosophy/East Asian Studies, Kansas University
A.S., Chemistry, Garden City Community Jr. College
A.S., Electronics, Front Range Community College
Phone: 303-384-7051
Mark began his work at NREL in 1996 as a subcontractor and became a regular full-time employee at the NWTC in 1999. He successfully tested a small furling wind turbine (SWRT) according to IEC standards for mechanical loads. This was a worldwide first. Mark designed the Data Acquisition System and monitored the data collected. Because of damage caused by the harsh environment of the installation, he also repaired the system. Mark ran the test with 2 1/2 people. He is accredited by A2LA for wind turbine tests of turbine output power, acoustic emissions, mechanical loads, power quality, safety and function, and duration. (All tests ISO 17025 compliant.) Mark provided empirical data of prototype wind turbines to their manufacturers (AOC, Bergey Windpower, SWWP, Enron Wind, GE Wind), enabling design validation and computer model verification. He trained engineers and technicians from Underwriters Laboratories, GEC, Clipper Wind, Mitsubishi, and others in Japan and Korea on certification testing techniques.
Michael Milligan
B.A. Albion College
M.A. University of Colorado, Denver
Ph.D. University of Colorado, Boulder
Michael came to NREL's wind energy program in 1992 and is now part of the Systems Integration Team at the National Wind Technology Center. He has worked on issues such as the ancillary service impacts of wind generation, the value of accurate wind forecasting, optimal selection of geographically dispersed wind power plants, modeling wind plant variability, and reliability contribution of wind power plants. Recent work in collaboration with Brendan Kirby of Oak Ridge National Laboratory has shown how ramp constraints can artificially increase energy prices and how balancing areas can reduce this impact by combining operations. He has authored or coauthored 80 papers, reports, and book chapters, and he collaborates closely with the Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG). Michael has served on technical review committees for wind integration studies in several states, provided testimony at public utility commission hearings and workshop presentations, participated in transmission and integration studies throughout the West and Midwest, and was a member of the Wind Task Force for the Western Governors' Association Clean and Diverse Energy project. He is also a member of the Wind Powering America team, providing technical assistance and outreach on wind integration and economic development impacts of wind.
Pat Moriarty
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
Ph.D., Aeronautical Engineering, Stanford University
M.S., Aeronautical Engineering, Stanford University
B.S., Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
Phone: 303-384-7081
Pat was hired at NREL in 2001. Since arriving, he has spent most of his time researching statistical loads extrapolation techniques for wind turbine design. He has developed new design techniques that enable industry to more reliably predict loads and produce cheaper designs. This work is included in the IEC International design standard 61400-1, edition 3, published in 2004. Pat continues to research wind turbine design and aeroacoustics of wind turbines. He is also involved in the development and continuing improvement of empirical codes for noise prediction and has developed and helped improve current aerodynamic prediction routines used in wind turbine simulation programs. He is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Prior to joining NREL, Pat spent nearly 2 years at RANN, Inc. examining active control of wind turbines under subcontract from NREL. His Ph.D. thesis at Stanford was on the experimental measurement and modeling of unsteady fluid dynamics relating to airframe noise. He spent the majority of his time working at NASA Ames Research Center and also collaborated with Boeing, Florida State University, and NASA Langley Research Center.
Ed Muljadi
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.Sc., Electrical Engineering, Surabaya Institute of Technology
Phone: 303-384-6904
Ed was hired at NREL in 1992. He is a member of the Applied Research Team at the NWTC. His research projects are in the fields of electric machines, power electronics, and power systems with emphasis on wind technology applications. He was involved with many different projects with industries, including variable speed wind turbine development, electric machine design and optimization, small wind turbine applications (battery charging, grid connection, and water pumping), and wind farm power system model development. He has written numerous publications and was the recipient of an IEEE-Prize paper in 1989. He holds two patents in renewable energy power conversion for a variable speed wind turbine generator and a peak power tracker for photovoltaic applications.
Ed is a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Xi, and a Senior Member of the IEEE. He is involved in the activities of the IEEE Industry Application Society and Power Engineering Society. He is currently a member of the Industrial Drives Committee, Electric Machines Committee, and Industrial Power Converter Committee of the IAS-IEEE. Before joining NREL, he was an associate professor at California State University in Fresno.
Walt Musial
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts
Phone: 303-384-6956
Walt was hired at NREL (SERI) in 1988 and has led the Development Testing Team at NREL since 1996. He is responsible for all laboratory testing involving wind turbine blades and wind turbine drivetrains. Walt began as a test engineer for the unsteady aerodynamics experiment. In 1989 he initiated the development of NREL's structural test facilities, which have tested more than 100 wind turbine blades. He expanded the facilities since their inception to keep up with the rapid growth in wind turbine size, including the conceptual design and implementation of the Industrial User Facility in 1996. The structural test facilities are the only facilities outside of Europe with these capabilities. Walt also was responsible for the design and implementation of the dynamometer test facility that was commissioned in 1999. This facility is the only one in the world capable of testing full-scale wind turbine drivetrains. Walt provides technical support for several industry development subcontracts and has been an active member of an American Gear Manufacturers Association committee to develop design standards for wind turbine gearboxes, a committee he co-founded. Walt was previously employed in the commercial wind energy industry in California. He held jobs with Kenetech Windpower and Energy Sciences Incorporated, where he worked as a field test engineer from 1984 to 1988. His career interests were solidified in 1979 when he took a wind energy engineering class at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Kathleen O'Dell
Senior Communicator
Phone: 303-384-6957
Rich Osgood
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6949
Ed Overly
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-7078
Brian Parsons
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6958
Brian Parsons is the project leader for wind energy grid integration at the NWTC. Brian is focused on grid operating costs and impacts, transmission, and interconnection issues. He works closely with the Utility Wind Integration Group and the transmission workgroup of the National Wind Coordinating Committee. He also works with the Department of Energy's Wind Powering America deployment and outreach initiative.
Prior to employment at NREL, Brian received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado and a masters in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Robi Robichaud
Phone: 303-684-6969
Mike Robinson
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6947
Tami Sandberg
NWTC Library
Phone: 303-384-6963
Scott Schreck
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-7102
Marc Schwartz
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University
B.S., Atmospheric Science, Cornell University
Phone: 303-384-6936
Marc was hired at NREL in 1994 and is currently the chief meteorological analyst for the wind resource assessment group. Marc is responsible for the analyses of the global wind data sets that are an important component of the wind resource assessments. He first started working in wind energy assessment in 1986 and joined the wind resource assessment group full-time in 1992. He has been involved in the validation and mapping of more than 30 updated state resource maps in the United States and has worked on developing wind resource atlases for a number of countries, including Sri Lanka, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Armenia, and Mongolia. He is also the lead for analyzing recently collected tall tower data and directing the U.S. offshore wind resource mapping and validation effort.
In addition to wind resource analysis and mapping, Marc has considerable experience in wind forecasting. He has 11 years experience as an operational weather forecaster with emphasis on wind forecasts. He is the technical lead for wind forecasting work at the NWTC and has helped organize and participate in domestic and international forecasting workshops. He serves as the NWTC's liaison with domestic wind generation forecast companies and researchers at the NOAA Global Systems Division. Marc has been an author on approximately 30 publications, primarily on wind resource assessment, climatology, and wind forecasting. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society and the American Wind Energy Association.
George Scott
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6903
David Simms
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-6942
Karin Sinclair
Senior Project Leader, National Wind Technology Center
M.A., Environmental Administration, University of California at Riverside
B.S., Economics, University of California at Riverside
Phone: 303-384-6946
Karin began working at NREL in 1992 and is currently working on environmental issues and distributed small wind turbines. She has led the Avian Research task since 1996. The objectives of the avian research have been to understand why birds collide with wind turbines and develop strategies to reduce the potential for impacts. Under her guidance, NREL has published more than 15 research reports on this topic since 1996.
Karin is the project manager for the Regional Verification Program. A current subcontract with a nonprofit organization in the Pacific Northwest is focused on installing 10 small wind systems, with the objective of evaluating operational characteristics of small wind systems in diverse applications and using a variety of financing strategies.
As a member of the Wind Powering America team, Karin works on finding ways to use state and federal enforcement penalties resulting from emission violations to develop wind energy projects as part of the settlement through supplemental environmental projects. Karin also works on the development of state-specific consumer guides for small wind electric systems.
Prior to joining NREL, Karin spent 6 years at the California Public Utilities Commission as a regulatory analyst working on a number of different projects with state ratepayer implications, including renewable energy projects in California.
Brian Smith
Wind Program Technology Manager, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
B.S., Manufacturing & Management Engineering, University of Vermont
Phone: 303-384-6911
Brian was hired at NREL (SERI) in 1988. He currently serves as Wind & Hydropower Technology Manager. He is responsible for managing the laboratory commitments to the DOE Wind & Hydropower Program Office and ensuring fulfillment of those commitments. He works directly with NREL's NWTC and with wind program staff at Sandia National Laboratories. Brian started at NREL as a test engineer for field testing of advanced blades and then became project leader for advanced wind technology development and field verification partnerships with industry. He has been involved with the DOE Turbine Research and DOE-EPRI Turbine Verification Program activities since their inception in the early 1990s and is well versed in many aspects of wind turbine research, design, product development, manufacturing, installation, testing, certification, operation, and maintenance. Before joining NREL, Brian worked as Chief Engineer and Operations & Maintenance Manager for several wind energy companies in California from 1984 to 1988 during the initial wind rush.
Dave Sprowls
Site Operations
Phone: 303-384-6908
Cynthia Szydlek
Senior Administrative Assistant, National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-7053
Cynthia joined the group in 1994 when the entire center moved out to the National Wind Technology Center. She was the first receptionist for the NWTC and has since advanced to a Senior Administrative Assistant. She received the Employee of the Month award several times and also received an NREL Outstanding Team award for ISO 17025 accreditation for the competence of testing and calibration of laboratories for the NWTC in 1999. Cynthia has studied graphic design and layout and has provided assistance with graphic needs for the NWTC staff (she thoroughly enjoys anything related to graphics). Cynthia also ensures the safety of NWTC employees by overseeing safe operating procedures for staff and job-specific training for staff and summer interns, purchasing safety items for staff, and serving as a fire marshal for the Center. Cynthia is also the move coordinator for the NWTC. Prior to working at the NWTC, she worked at the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees in Detroit, Michigan in data entry and finance.
Kim Tangler
Contracts and Business Services
Phone: 303-384-7018
Suzanne Tegen
National Wind Technology Center
Ph.D., Energy Policy, University of Colorado
B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Phone: 202-586-0960
Suzanne Tegen is currently working as a liaison between NREL and the DOE's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program in Washington, D.C. Prior to her position at DOE Headquarters, she focused on wind energy economic and policy analyses for Wind Powering America. Suzanne served on the Environmental Board while pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado. Before graduate school, Suzanne worked for the U.S. Antarctic Program at McMurdo Station and for the Center for Resource Solutions in San Francisco.
Bob Thresher
Director, National Wind Technology Center
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Michigan Tech University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Michigan Tech University
Phone: 303-384-6922
Bob has more than 30 years of research, development, engineering, and management experience in wind technology, plant engineering, and aerospace systems. As a professor at Oregon State University, he worked with DOE to develop early wind energy technologies. Having been a part of early wind exploration and development of the wind program at NREL and finally as the Director of the NWTC, Bob provides unparalleled expertise in research, development, and commercialization of wind energy technologies. Bob's key career accomplishments include:
- Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Wind Energy Association in 2001
- Recognized as the 1997 Person of the Year by the American Wind Energy Association
- Inducted into the Academy of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University, "in recognition of significant contributions to the engineering profession," October 1996
- Federal Programs Award, American Wind Energy Society, "for effective management and leadership," 1992
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, "for research efforts to investigate the effects of wind turbulence on the dynamic response of wind machines," 1991
- H.M. Hubbard Award, "for leadership in science and technology management," SERI/ NREL, 1990.
Yih-Huei Wan
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
M.S., Electrical Engineering, Southern Illinois University
B.S., Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University
Phone: 303-384-7025
Yih-huei was hired at NREL in 1991. His expertise is in electric power system engineering, planning, and operation. His work at NREL involves researching and analyzing issues related to integrating renewable energy technologies into the electric power grid. Subject topics include renewable energy capacity credit, operational impacts of intermittent energy sources on operations, distributed generation, and transmission constraints. He has also carried out analysis on distribution generation, renewable energy resource assessment, and renewable energy policy issues (such as net metering and green tariffs). He currently manages the Wind Farm Monitoring program that collects long-term, high-frequency wind power output data from several large commercial wind farms in the Midwest. The collected data are used to show how wind power actually behaves and provide the industry with meaningful statistics on fluctuations of wind power.
Before joining NREL, Yih-Huei worked as an electrical engineer for Western Farmer Electric Cooperative, a generation and transmission cooperative serving rural Oklahoma, for 10 years. He started in distribution substation design and progressed to transmission substation design, transmission system planning, and finally to system operations and bulk power transaction analysis. He represented his company in several Southwest Power Pool working groups on system modeling and regional system reliability.
Mary Wheeler
Finance
Phone: 303-384-6915
Neil Wikstrom
Contracts and Business Services
Phone: 303-384-6960
Scott Wilde
National Wind Technology Center
Phone: 303-384-7074
Alan Wright
Senior Engineer, National Wind Technology Center
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, University of Colorado
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University
B.S., Mathematics, Oregon State University
Phone: 303-384-6928
Alan was hired at NREL (SERI) in 1984. He has led the Wind Turbine Code development and validation team at NREL since 1992. The team's major project has been the development of simulation codes for predicting the dynamic response and loads of wind turbine systems. These codes are extensively used by wind industry members in the design of wind turbines to decrease structural loads and increase fatigue lifetimes. More recently, Alan has been involved with incorporating control schemes for load alleviation and power enhancement into these analytical codes. He is currently writing his Ph.D. thesis on the control of large flexible wind turbines to enhance energy capture and reduce structural dynamic loads and response. These control schemes will be used in future large wind turbines to alleviate loads due to atmospheric turbulence.
Prior to joining NREL, Alan spent 5 years at the wind turbine research program at Rocky Flats, operated by Rockwell International. He performed analytical modeling and structural dynamic studies of wind turbine rotor systems. His graduate school research at CU is being funded through NREL and allows him to incorporate modern control schemes into wind turbine analytical codes. These control schemes will be tested on the Controlled Advanced Research Turbine at the NWTC in the near future.
