Daniel Zimmerle

Director of the Methane Emissions Program (METEC)
Director of the Remote and Distributed Energy Center (RADEC)

About Daniel

Natural Gas Research: Zimmerle was a principal investigator on four major studies of methane emissions in the natural gas supply chain, including studies of upstream, midstream, and distribution systems at a nation and/or regional scale.  Zimmerle is also principal investigator and director of the Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center, a DOE-sponsored test facility at CSU that tests next generation leak detection solutions.  Research on natural gas emissions includes studies of both above- and below-ground emission locations, and several leak detection and quantification technologies, including optical gas imaging (OGI), high flow sampling, and downwind methods.

Energy Systems Research: Zimmerle leads research in remote and distributed energy systems.  Recent and ongoing studies include the assessment of in-building DC power distribution and end-use efficiency, high-penetration PV in distribution systems, and the aging of distribution transformers.  The research team works extensively on village utility systems – electricity, gas, water, and communications – as a catalyst for village economic development.  The team primarily works in Africa, much of it in partnership with Mesh Power Rwanda. 

History: Prior to CSU, Zimmerle served as the Chief Operating Officer at Spirae, Inc. and 20 years at Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies including experience as both a division general manager and R&D manager.  He has led organizations in several business areas, including computer aided design software, test systems, and consumer products.  Organizations included personnel in the US, Ireland, Singapore and other countries. 

He holds a BSME and MSME from North Dakota State University.

Research Interests:

I strongly favor research based upon the collection and analysis of primary data, including field measurements, in-community research, and laboratory experiments. Most of my research is inherently systems engineering and I particularly enjoy research that integrates multiple diverse disciplines.

Research topics of interest:

  • Understanding and mitigating emissions from natural gas systems.
  • Stochastic modeling & simulation of emissions and energy systems.
  • Identification and modeling of rare events.
  • Understanding the interactions between disparate energy and communications systems, such as interconnected natural gas and electrical networks.

Topics on the horizon:

  • Interaction between social and technical factors in rural development.
Dan Zimmerle

Address

Powerhouse Energy Campus
430 N. College Avenue, 80524
Fort Collins, CO 80523
1374 Campus Delivery

Contact 
[email protected]
(970) 581-9945

Website: https://metec.colostate.edu