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Research institute at University of California, Santa Barbara From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) is a research institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). IEE is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to the development of science and technologies that increase energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and support an efficient and sustainable energy future.
The Institute was founded in 2008 with the proposition to establish a new, cross-disciplinary institute that would integrate the many diverse research projects in energy efficiency and provide a focus for work in this area.[1] Four years later, in 2012, IEE cofounder and then-Oracle Corporation chairman Jeff Henley, calling UC Santa Barbara the “best-kept secret in the world,” donated $50M to IEE and its parent College of Engineering to boost research and market solutions in clean energy and energy efficiency.[2]
Research at IEE falls into three programs, all of which address broad and complex energy efficiency-related grand challenges:
To meet these challenges, IEE faculty and researchers align their work along three technical foundations:
IEE administers several programs to support research, implement research and engage with industry partners. A major program is being the West Coast Hub for the American Institute of Manufacturing Photonics (AIM Photonics), which is one of 16 manufacturing innovation institutes within the Manufacturing USA network. Other programs in IEE include the Industry Partner program, seed funding and fellowship programs, Apprentice Researchers program, previous contributions to University of California’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative[11] and a program to distribute energy efficient solar power lighting through a nonprofit called Unite to Light.[12] At the Institute's Emerging Technologies Review[13] event, speakers from across the industry and academia come together to discuss better efforts to battle carbon emissions.
IEE hosts weekly public seminars and energy leadership lectures, as well as an emerging technology review and regular technology roundtable discussions[14] for stakeholders from industry, government and academia.[15] Its Apprentice Researchers Program gives high school students the opportunity to conduct scientific investigations present their findings.
The Institute is led by founding director John E. Bowers, Executive Director Mark Abel and Assistant Director Jenna Craig.[16]
Guidance also comes from the Director's Council, headed by Oracle vice-chairman Jeff Henley. The Director's Council also includes Mark Bertelsen, partner Wilson Sansini; Dan Burnham, former Raytheon CEO; Jim Dehlsen, CEO of Ecomerit; Reece Duca, founder, GlobalEnglish; Bob Duggan, former CEO of Pharmacyclics; Glenn Duvall, CEO of Challenger Cable; Wenbin Jiang, CEO of Cytek Biosciences; John MacFarlane, former SONOS CEO; John Marren, Technology Chief, TPG; and Fredric Steck, partner Goldman Sachs.
Approximately 40 UCSB faculty from disciplines including electrical and computer engineering, computer science, environmental science and management, chemistry, biochemistry and materials conduct research within the institute.[17] Roughly 14 graduate student researchers and six postdoctoral researchers are currently affiliated with the institute.
Notable faculty include 2000 Chemistry Nobel laureate Alan Heeger, 2014 Physics Nobel laureate Shuji Nakamura and 2016 National Medal of Technology and Innovation medalist Arthur Gossard. IEE faculty members hold awards and honors from organizations including the National Academies of Engineering, Inventors, and Sciences; the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); The Optical Society (OSA); the American Physical Society (APS); and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
Aware of the need to create and promote energy efficient technologies and noticing a convergence of many energy-efficiency related research projects across the UCSB campus, College of Engineering Dean Matt Tirrell and UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang, together with a group of business leaders including Jeff Henley, Dan Burnham, Fred Steck, and John Marin in 2008 proposed the establishment of the Institute for Energy Efficiency. Professor John Bowers of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and of the Department of Materials, was selected as the founding director.
For the first 10 years, the institute was organized into six Solution Groups, led by UCSB faculty members prominent in their fields:
Solution Group | Leader |
---|---|
Lighting | Steven DenBaars[18] |
Energy Production & Storage | Guillermo Bazan[19] |
Electronics & Photonics | John Bowers[20] |
Buildings & Design | Igor Mezic |
Computing | Rich Wolski [21] |
Economics & Policy | Sangwon Suh |
In 2019, IEE organized its research into three main thrusts:
The Institute for Energy Efficiency is housed in Henley Hall,[22] a three-story 49,900 gross square foot building designed to house IEE's research activity and programs. The building consists of wet- and dry laboratories, conference and collaboration spaces, a 124-seat lecture hall and faculty and administrative offices. Co-locating IEE faculty and students into one building is expected to foster collaborations and expedite the commercialization of new technologies.[23] As of November 2021, Henley Hall has been awarded the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2021 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. LEED Platinum is the top level of LEED certification recognizing Henley Hall’s exceptional environmentally friendly and sustainable design.[24]