Photo courtesy of NYSERDA

Rensselaer officials have announced the appointment of Nag Patibandla as director of the Center for Future Energy Systems, a New York State Center for Advanced Technology (CAT). He also will hold a position as a research professor in the School of Engineering’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Patibandla brings an extensive background in energy policy, management, and research, having worked in a variety of positions at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), General Electric, and previously as a researcher and professor at Rensselaer.

“Energy is the overarching challenge of the 21st century, and our goal is to make New York state a world leader in energy research and a powerful generator of energy-related businesses and jobs,” said Omkaram “Om” Nalamasu, vice president for research at Rensselaer. “Dr. Patibandla is a distinguished energy expert with rich state and global experience in academia, industry, and government. His passion for applying world-class energy research to generate innovative solutions, along with his leadership in building collaborations in New York state, will be invaluable as we work to address key global energy security challenges.”

Rensselaer’s $20 million research center, in partnership with Cornell University and Brookhaven National Laboratory, seeks to meet the energy challenges of the 21st century by focusing on innovation in and commercialization of energy conservation and renewable energy systems.

Research at the Center for Future Energy Systems is focused on renewable energy and energy conservation systems, with an initial emphasis on fuel cells and the hydrogen economy, smart lighting, smart displays, and emerging renewable energy systems. Future research priorities will track new scientific developments and marketplace opportunities. 

“Through his work at NYSERDA, Dr. Patibandla has helped to make New York state a national leader in advancing the state of the art of distributed generation technologies and demonstrating the value of these technologies for customers to control energy costs and reinforce grid reliability,” said William Flynn, chairman and former president of NYSERDA. “His technical expertise and leadership on these challenging energy issues will help to focus RPI’s efforts and make the CAT a world-class leader in developing and commercializing the types of advanced energy technologies that will power the 21st century.”

In 2004 Rensselaer was awarded up to $10 million in state funds, through the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), to create the center, in partnership with Cornell University and the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Rensselaer is on track to match the state funds with an additional $10 million or more in industry and federal support for its energy research.

To speed technology commercialization and to develop a highly skilled workforce, the center is working with a number of New York-based companies along with other global industry leaders, and federal and state entities including the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, NYSTAR, and NYSERDA.

Published March 20, 2006