People

Dr. Bryan Willson is Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Colorado State University, and the Bryan Willson Presidential Chair. He also serves as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Maury serves as the External Engagement Administrator for the Energy Institute. She is also the Executive Director of the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory, which is a successful energy research partnership between CU Boulder, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 

Kate Laughery is the Energy Institute’s Associate Director for Operations and is responsible for the financial, human resources and building operations of the Energy Institute.

Anthony J. Marchese is the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Director of the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory and Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering at Colorado State University. Marchese holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and B.S. and M.S. […]

Jeff D., Muhs is the Energy Institute’s Associate Director for Programs and Initiatives.  He is responsible for increasing campus-wide faculty engagement in various EI activities, convening interdisciplinary working groups on research topics of mutual interest, interfacing with regional innovation ecosystem partners to help spur entrepreneurship and innovation, administering donor-funded seed grant and student internship programs, […]

Bill Ritter, Jr. is the founder and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) at Colorado State University which launched on February 1, 2011. The Center employs an assistant director, three senior policy advisors, an executive assistant and a team of student researchers. The Center works directly with governors, legislators, regulators, planners, […]

As the communications manager for the Energy Institute, Andrea is responsible for communications program management, as well as engagement with internal and external constituents. Members of the media seeking assistance with a story about the work happening at the CSU Energy Institute should contact Andrea at Andrea.Leland@colostate.edu.

Dr. Bryan Willson is Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Colorado State University, and the Bryan Willson Presidential Chair. He also serves as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Todd Bandhauer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at CSU and the Director of the Interdisciplinary Thermal Science Laboratory (www.theitslab.com). His expertise and interests include thermal energy systems, electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems, and microscale phase change heat transfer.

Dr. Lynn Badia is Assistant Professor of English at Colorado State University specializing in Environmental and Energy Humanities. Dr. Badia is currently working with the Energy Institute in efforts to research the intersection of energy and society.

Anura Jayasumana is a Professor in Electrical & Computer Engineering with joint appointments in Computer Science and Systems Engineering. His research involves Internet of Things, social network analytics,  large-scale distributed sensing, distributed weak pattern detection, and computer.

Richard Conant is an ecosystem ecologist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Professor of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Warner College of Resources at Colorado State University.

Sudeep Pasricha is a Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering Endowed Rockwell-Anderson Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Computer Science (courtesy appointment) at Colorado State University. He is Director of the Embedded Systems and High Performance Computing (EPiC) Laboratory and the Chair of Computer Engineering. His research interests are broadly in the areas of algorithms and architectures for energy-efficient, fault-tolerant, real-time, and secure computing, for platforms ranging from small embedded and IoT devices, to smartphones, servers, and large-scale data centers.

Clay Bell is a research scientist working under the supervision of Daniel Zimmerle to lead the design, construction and operation of the Methane Emission Technology Evaluation Center (METEC).

Thomas Borch is a Professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University with joint appointments in Chemistry and Civil and Environmental Engineering.  He is internationally recognized as an authority on soil and water processes that affect the fate and transport of organic and inorganic pollutants. He currently studies potential environmental impacts […]

Dr. Thomas H. Bradley is Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado State University. He earned BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California – Davis, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology with an emphasis in systems engineering and decision support. Primary research interests […]

Dr. James Cale is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Colorado State University. His research focuses on modeling, control and design optimization of energy sources and systems. His background and interests are in the areas of energy conversion, power-electronic drive systems, microgrids, finite-inertia power systems, computational and applied electromagnetics, biologically-inspired optimization methods, […]

Dr. Jeni Cross is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Colorado State University, and the Director of Research for the Institute for the Built Environment.  She is also a founder and co-Director for the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, a new institute at Colorado State University enhancing social science research and supporting interdisciplinary research teams.

Dr. Susan De Long is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CSU. She has Bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Science and Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from The University of Texas, Austin. She has over 18 […]

Bruce Draper is a professor of Computer Science at Colorado State University and holds an appointment in the Molecular, Cellular and Integrated Neuroscience (MCIN) program. His research is in visually recognizing people, their gestures, and actions, and in applying these techniques to complex systems of interacting people and machines.

Jerry Duggan is the Lab Manager at Colorado State University’s Smart Village Microgrid Lab at the Energy Institute, which does research in village-scale microgrids, DC power distribution systems, and AC/DC efficency studies.

Kirk was raised on a southeastern Colorado farm. He attended Garden City Community College from 1992 – 1994 as a part of the John Deere Agricultural Technician Program.

As director of the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Erica Fleishman guides development and implementation of the center’s priorities and its collaborations with federal, state, university, and other partners. She facilitates provision of research, services, and education by CEMML, and seeks to maintain and increase the center’s diversity and inclusivity.

Dr. Thomas Foust has been a Visiting Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at CSU since October 2017. Dr. Foust is a joint appointment at CSU and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) where he is the Director of the National Bioenergy Center.  He is a comprehensive expert in the clean energy area with a […]

Shantanu has a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in Engineering and Public Policy and leads the Laboratory for Air Quality Research at the Energy Institute.

Dr. Christian L’Orange is a Research Scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University. His work is focused around engineering for public health. Dr. L’Orange’s research projects include the development of low-cost, next generation pollution monitors for quantifying exposure to pollution and the evaluation and testing of the biomass cookstoves used by nearly 50% of the world’s population.

Tony Maciejewski joined Colorado State University in 2001 and is currently a Professor and Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).

John Mehaffy is a lab manager and exposure assessment specialist in Dr. Volckens’ group. John is responsible for air sample collection and analysis, chamber testing for equipment design and validation, human subject research testing, and other duties.

Dr. Erika Miller is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Systems Engineering. Her research focuses on human factors, autonomous and connected vehicles, and the integration of humans with automation.  

The Miyake group uses light to drive chemical transformations under mild conditions for the synthesis of polymers and small molecules. We are also focused on developing polymeric photonic crystal that can selectively reflect light, including IR radiation, to prevent thermalization in warm urban environments.

John Mizia leads the Advanced Biomass Combustion Lab at the Powerhouse Energy Institute and is also the CEO and co-founder of Qapture Inc.

The Neilson research group studies structure/property relationships in energy materials to discover and synthesize materials for next-generation energy technologies.

Dr. Daniel B. Olsen is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Colorado State University (CSU).

Quinn’s research focuses on sustainability assessments through life cycle and techno-economic modeling leveraging experimental data for system model validation.

The Sambur group focuses on synthesizing nanomaterials and developing imaging techniques to understand structure/function relationships with the highest possible spatial and temporal resolution. The group aims to understand how single nanomaterials behave in working solar energy conversion and catalytic devices. Justin was an NSF ACC-F postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University in the laboratory of Dr. […]

Dr. Simske joined CSU in January 2018 after 23 years in industry at HP and HP Labs. He is the author of more than 400 publications and more than 170 US patents. He is an IS&T Fellow, and its current (2017-2019) President. Steve is the Steering Committee Chair for the ACM DocEng Symposium, which meets […]

James Sites studies the device physics of low-cost CdTe and CIGS thin-film solar cells. He received his PhD from Cornell in 1969 and has been on the Colorado State Physics faculty since 1971.  His photovoltaics lab makes precision electrical and optical measurements on solar cells fabricated at Colorado State and by several partners in the […]

Dr. Bryan Willson is Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Colorado State University, and the Bryan Willson Presidential Chair. He also serves as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Kristine works at the Program Manager for METEC. METEC CSU is a project in collaboration with ARPA-E and their methane initiatives. The goal of the facility is to provide a location that models natural gas facilities, so that researchers can test low-cost methane sensing technologies and evaluate their performance.

Annabelle is a PhD Candidate in Economics and Graduate Research Assistant for Extension’s State Energy Specialist. She conducts research pertaining to energy efficiency and renewable energy outreach and education throughout the state.

Maury serves as the External Engagement Administrator for the Energy Institute. She is also the Executive Director of the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory, which is a successful energy research partnership between CU Boulder, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 

Kirk was raised on a southeastern Colorado farm. He attended Garden City Community College from 1992 – 1994 as a part of the John Deere Agricultural Technician Program.

Dr. Thomas Foust has been a Visiting Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at CSU since October 2017. Dr. Foust is a joint appointment at CSU and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) where he is the Director of the National Bioenergy Center.  He is a comprehensive expert in the clean energy area with a […]

Wendy supports Dr. Willson, the Executive Director of the CSU Energy Institute and Gov. Ritter and his team at the Center for the New Energy Economy. 

Teya is responsible for all events sponsored by the Energy Institute and at the Powerhouse Energy Campus. Teya works on event planning and outreach for students, staff, faculty, and University Guests. Teya also frequently assists with Energy Institute Communications.

Kate Laughery is the Energy Institute’s Associate Director for Operations and is responsible for the financial, human resources and building operations of the Energy Institute.

David Leith served on the faculty of Harvard University for ten years, then served at the University of North Carolina where he was Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering for over 30 years.  He has retired from UNC and is now a summer intern at CSU, where he works in the lab of Professor John Volckens. 

Jeff D., Muhs is the Energy Institute’s Associate Director for Programs and Initiatives.  He is responsible for increasing campus-wide faculty engagement in various EI activities, convening interdisciplinary working groups on research topics of mutual interest, interfacing with regional innovation ecosystem partners to help spur entrepreneurship and innovation, administering donor-funded seed grant and student internship programs, […]

Bill Ritter, Jr. is the founder and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) at Colorado State University which launched on February 1, 2011. The Center employs an assistant director, three senior policy advisors, an executive assistant and a team of student researchers. The Center works directly with governors, legislators, regulators, planners, […]

As the communications manager for the Energy Institute, Andrea is responsible for communications program management, as well as engagement with internal and external constituents. Members of the media seeking assistance with a story about the work happening at the CSU Energy Institute should contact Andrea at Andrea.Leland@colostate.edu.

Ali grew up in a suburb of Tehran, Iran. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) in 2015, then began his Ph.D. studies at Colorado State University. His research is about understanding the atmospheric formation of organic aerosols from a variety of sources such as gasoline, diesel and […]

In May 2016, Alyssa graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering where she worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant on projects related to UV disinfection and ion exchange to treat drinking water and wastewater. Alyssa is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, and served as President […]

Sulaiman is a graduate student researcher in the Advanced Power Engineering Laboratory at Colorado State University where he is pursuing his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering.

Radi Alsulami is a PhD student in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Colorado State University under the advisement of Dr. Bret Windom. His research focuses on investigating the effect of atomization and evaporation processes – preferential vaporization for multicomponent fuels – as well as the physical and chemical properties of single and multicomponent liquid fuels on flame behavior and stability.

My name is Hannah and I am a graphic design student working as an intern here at the Energy Institute. I’m an artist, photographer, and cat connoisseur. Not only do I have a passion for art, I’m also a history buff. I’ll give you a most excellent fun fact about history or art if you […]

Annabelle is a PhD Candidate in Economics and Graduate Research Assistant for Extension’s State Energy Specialist. She conducts research pertaining to energy efficiency and renewable energy outreach and education throughout the state.

Diego Bestel is a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering working with Laser Diagnostics in Combustion under Dr. Bret Windom, and has experience working in engine testing and fuels.

Shelby Condit is the Media & Communications Intern at the CSU Energy Institute. She helps run the social media presence, blog and weekly newsletter. She has experience in photography, filming, video editing, and event promotion.  

Fathalla Eldali is pursuing his Ph.D. at the Advanced Power Engineering Laboratory (APEL) at CSU. His main areas of interest are electric power systems, grid integration of renewable energy, and Demand Side Management.

Kyle is completing the second year of his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at CSU. He is a researcher for John Mizia in the Advanced Biomass Combustion Lab and is currently developing a low-firepower fecal dust combustor for sanitation applications in developing countries.

Achyut is a master’s student in Mechanical Engineering with the Interdisciplinary Thermal Science Lab at the Energy Institute. His current research is focused on waste heat recovery systems and efficiency improvement strategies for thermal power plants.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System after Mercury. In English, Mars carries a name of the Roman god of war, and is… Wait, no. Wrong Mars. Mars is a prior Navy Sailor who enjoyed working on missile systems but did not enjoy back-to-back-to-back deployments. After […]

Michael is a second-year graduate student at Colorado State University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a Student Ambassador for the Energy Institute.

Evan is a PhD student researching the sustainability of emerging technologies in agriculture, bioprocessing, and transportation.

Wendell is a first-year graduate student in the Systems Engineering Department at CSU. His current work focuses on analyzing Fort Collins’ electrical grid to identify areas that may be susceptible to power issues when distributed electricity generation is more widespread in the future.

Hailey is a PhD student researching sustainability of agriculture, bioprocessing and food-related systems through life cycle and economic analyses.

After Ethan graduated from nursing school and began working in healthcare, he never thought I would end up working alongside engineers and studying air pollution. His career path led him to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Health, where he joined the Volckens group and began studying the health effects of household air pollution from […]