Speakers

Topic of Presentation:

Panel chair, Solar and Storage Roadmap Session

Career history

Currently I am a Researcher at the World Resources Institute, focusing on grid integration of renewable energy and open-access energy data. Separately, I am providing image analysis and computer vision algorithm development for satellite imagery startup company SpaceNinja.
Previously: Innovation Lead, Global Green Growth Institute, where I focused on clean energy innovation policy in emerging economies. Prior to that: Senior Advisor for R&D, US Department of Energy, where I focused on identifying technical areas for cross-cutting energy technology R&D and coordinating the applied energy technology R&D programs (EERE, ARPA-E, etc.)
Prior to that: Post-doctoral Research Fellow, US NIST, where I conducted experimental research in quantum optics and atomic physics.

Areas of expertise:

Energy systems technology; Energy policy; Technology for sustainable development; Remote sensing and satellite imagery analysis; Quantum optics

Topic of Presentation:

Solar and Storage roadmap

Career history:

Ali oversees an analyst team focused on research and analysis of Japan’s energy sector covering topics such as impact of nuclear restarts on LNG demand, new energy retail strategies as a result of energy market reform, and the future of electrified transport. His prior experience includes working at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and the fuel cell manufacturer, Ballard Power Systems. Ali has an undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and a Doctorate in Materials Science from Meijo University.

Areas of expertise:

• Energy storage and Fuel cell technology
• Electrified Transport
• Energy market and Policy analysis

Career history:

Professor of Practice at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (graduate university created and operated in collaboration with MIT) since 2011. Previous assignments: head of Masdar City’s Energy Department (UAE, 4 years), International Energy Group (UAE, 2 years), University of Québec (Canada, 4 years), Silicon Energy (USA, 4 years), Raab Karcher Energy Services (Germany, 3 years) and Schlumberger Research (France, 5 years). Dr Afshari holds an Engineering Diploma in Energy Engineering from INSA (France), an MSc in Control & Signal Processing and a PhD in Physics from the University of Paris XI (France) as well as an MBA from INSEAD (France).

Areas of expertise:

25 years of experience in Buildings Energy Efficiency and Demand-Side Management (DSM). Current research interests include urban energy modeling, load forecasting, fault detection & diagnosis, decision support for DSM and renewable energies.

Career history:

Amory B. Lovins, a consultant physicist and innovator in energy and its links with resources, security, development, and environment, has advised the energy and other industries for four decades as well as the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense. His work in 50+ countries has been recognized by the “Alternative Nobel,” Blue Planet, Volvo, Zayed, Onassis, Nissan, Shingo, and Mitchell Prizes, MacArthur and Ashoka Fellowships, the Benjamin Franklin and Happold Medals, 12 honorary doctorates, and the Heinz, Lindbergh, Time Hero for the Planet, National Design, and World Technology Awards.A Harvard and Oxford dropout, former Oxford don, honorary U.S. architect, and Swedish engineering academician, he has briefed 23 heads of state and written 31 books and over 530 papers. Cofounder of Rocky Mountain Institute (www.rmi.org)—an independent, nonprofit think-and-do tank that drives the efficient and restorative use of resources—his work as its Chief Scientist has lately included leading the superefficient redesigns of scores of buildings, several vehicles, and $40+ billion worth of industrial facilities in 29 sectors. He led the creation of two of RMI’s five for-profit spinoffs: E Source, www.esource.com, and Fiberforge,www.fiberforge.com, which he chaired until 2007. His latest books with various coauthors include Natural Capitalism (www.natcap.org), Small Is Profitable (www.smallisprofitable.org), Winning the Oil Endgame (www.oilendgame.com), The Essential Amory Lovins, and Reinventing Fire (www.reinventingfire.com). The most recent of his visiting posts in ten universities were as 2007 MAP/Ming Professor in Stanford University’s School of Engineering (www.rmi.org/stanford) and as Professor of Practice at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is a member of the Advisory Board to the Chief of Naval Operations and of the U.S. National Petroleum Council. In 2009, Time named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people, and Foreign Policy, one of the 100 top global thinkers.

Areas of expertise:

Areas of expertise include energy efficiency, integrative design, transportation, alternative fuels, the electricity sector, distributed generation, industrial efficiency, and the oil industry, among others.

Career history:

Daniel Nocera is the Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy at Harvard University. Prior to moving to Harvard in 2013, he was on the faculty of the from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and was Director of the Solar Revolutions Project and Director of the Solar Frontiers Center. He is widely recognized for his contributions to renewable energy. He recently accomplished a solar fuels process that captures many of the elements of photosynthesis and has now translated this science to produce the artificial leaf, which was named by Time Magazine as Innovation of the Year for 2011. Nocera is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Indian Academy of Sciences. He was named as 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine and was 11th on the New Statesman’s list on the same topic. He founded Sun Catalytix, a company to develop energy storage for the wide-spread implementation of renewables. In August 2014, Lockheed Martin purchased the assets of Sun Catalytix, and now his technology is being commercialized under the new venture, Lockheed Martin Advanced Energy Storage, LLC.

Areas of expertise:

Artificial photosynthesis, solar fuels, catalysis, photochemistry

Career history:

Areas of expertise:

Interested in new technologies and methodologies to reduce per capita CO2 emission within 20 - 30 years including ways of thinking and social systems in advanced countries. Ways of Cooperation between developed and under developing countries are other interests.
Fields: CO2 Reduction Technologies, Life Cycle Assessment, Risk Assessment, Risk Communication, Management of Chemical Substances