The nation’s future energy directions are being driven by decentralization and decarbonization. There has been an explosion in deployment of wind power and solar energy in the last five years, to the extent that renewable power has become the largest new contributor to new electric power capacity. The decentralized nature of these sources, as well as their intermittent character, is introducing many challenges to the electric grid. These trends, coupled with growing electrification of transport and cybersecurity concerns, imply that changes are needed in how the grid is integrated with electricity users, managed, and controlled. This talk will describe a path forward for the future grid and discuss research to achieve a sustainable future for the use of energy, based upon scenarios developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

(Lunch reception immediately following seminar at 12 pm in MaRC Atrium)

Click here to RSVP for lunch

About the Speaker

Martin Keller became the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Director on November 30, 2015. NREL is the Department of Energy’s primary laboratory for energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development. NREL is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (Alliance). Martin also serves as the President of Alliance.

Martin joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in July 2006, and on July 1, 2009, ORNL appointed Martin to the role of Associate Laboratory Director. On November 1, 2010, ORNL formed a new directorate, Energy and Environmental Sciences, and asked Martin to take the lead. As Associate Laboratory Director, Martin was responsible for the energy, biological and environmental research programs at ORNL, supported by DOE, the EPA, and the NIH. Martin served as the Founding Director of the DOE BioEnergy Science Center, and, before being named Associate Laboratory Director at ORNL, he served as the Director of the Biosciences Division.

In June 1994, Martin joined the publicly traded biotechnology company, Diversa Corporation, as a consultant, to build and develop the microbiology expertise within Diversa. In 1996, Martin joined Diversa full-time, and between 1996 and 2006, he held a series of research management positions within the Diversa Corporation.

Martin received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Regensburg, Germany. In 2013, Martin was elected as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.