Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute officials today announced the appointment of Nag Patibandla as director of the Center for Future Energy Systems, a New York State Center for Advanced Technology. 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.

“Issues of energy and the environment will be a focus of the School of Engineering in the foreseeable future,” said Rensselaer School of Engineering Dean Alan Cramb. “Dr Patibandla is an acknowledged leader in this area and we are fortunate to have attracted him to Rensselaer.” Patibandla will hold a position as a research professor in the School of Engineering’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

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 M. 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.

Russell Bessette, M.D., executive director of NYSTAR, said, “Under Governor Pataki’s leadership, the CAT program continues to be an extremely important component of the state’s high-technology economic development efforts. NYSTAR looks forward to working with the RPI Future Energy Systems CAT and Dr. Patibandla in continuing New York state’s vibrant technology-based economy well into the future.”  

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. 

“Nag Patibandla has been a true asset to NYSERDA and will prove to be the same in his new position at RPI,” said Peter Smith, president and CEO of NYSERDA. “Nag’s knowledge and experience in the energy industry has been of tremendous value to the Authority and he will be greatly missed. Although he will be a loss for NYSERDA, he will be a gain for RPI and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors there.”

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu