March 2025
Q&A With NREL Scientist Effie Kisgeropoulos
Kisgeropoulos is a full-time researcher in NREL's Biosciences Center, responsible for helping manage the Advanced Spin Resonance Facility, which houses the electron paramagnetic resonance equipment.
NREL Researcher Steven R. Spurgeon Wins Burton Medal From Microscopy Society of America
NREL materials data scientist Steven R. Spurgeon has been honored with the Microscopy Society of America's Burton Medal award.
46 Patents, One Fiscal Year
In Fiscal Year 2024, researchers at NREL submitted a record-breaking 294 innovations, representing potentially patentable inventions or copyrightable software.
Researcher Spotlight: Susan Habas' Journey to Catalytic Innovation at NREL
Susan Habas, now a senior scientist and distinguished member of research staff in the Catalytic Carbon Transformation and Scale-Up Center at NREL, had an unconventional start to her career in chemistry.
NREL Researchers Advance Substrate Engineering Pathways To Improve Power Electronics
Two new materials science papers explore substrate engineering to increase power electronics’ energy efficiency and performance.
How NREL Researcher Garry Rumbles Has Advanced Science Through Mentorship
Rumbles is known globally for his photochemistry research. At NREL, he has a reputation for creating a culture that has led to innovative ideas in basic energy research.
Early-Career Spotlight: Ashley Gaulding
Sometimes Ashley Gaulding feels a bit like an investigator on a television crime procedural.
Ocean Energy Is Almost Ready, But It Needs a Boost Over the Testing Barrier
Marine energy developers often start with a functional theoretical design. But even the best virtual designs cannot account for every invisible defect or ocean oddity. NREL’s desert facilities offer the comprehensive, computer-to-ocean testing that marine energy researchers and developers need to get their technologies closer to commercial use.
February 2025
Making Innovation Happen: New IN² Cohort Focuses on Advanced Energy Implementation
Coconino County Schools selected Ponderosa as the focus of an advanced energy initiative through the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator managed by NREL.
Kevin Lombardo's Family Rebuilt Their Home and Lives After Marshall Fire
After the Dec. 30, 2021, Marshall Fire burned his family's home to the ground, Kevin Lombardo, an NREL Client and Infrastructure Services manager, was struck by the enormity of what they faced.
NREL Plant Biologist Maureen McCann Named Senior Research Fellow
NREL has selected Maureen McCann, an internationally renowned plant biologist, to its highest technical position for a scientist: Senior Research Fellow.
Forget Football—These Colorado Teens Flipped the Regional Science Bowl Rankings
The stakes were high on Feb. 8, 2025, with 24 teams from 19 Colorado schools vying for the chance to represent Colorado in the National Science Bowl Finals in Washington, D.C.
Andrea Watson Named Associate Director for Innovation, Partnering, and Outreach at NREL
Andrea Watson has been selected to serve as the next associate laboratory director for the Innovation, Partnering, and Outreach directorate at NREL.
January 2025
These Innovative Approaches Harness the Benefits of Rooftop Solar Energy for Homes and Small Businesses
The Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN) Round 3 brought together eight multistakeholder teams from various locations across the United States to develop new approaches to solar deployment, focusing on residential and commercial buildings in underserved communities.
Cybersecurity Accelerator Expands To Speed Commercialization of Department of Energy Technologies
The Critical Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator has launched a new track to help technologies across the U.S. Department of Energy's 17 national laboratories bridge the gap from concept to adoption.
NREL Invites Industry, Academia To Help Advance Large Wind Turbine Designs
Request for proposals invites fundamental research efforts to generate validation data that could improve performance and reliability of large commercial wind turbines.
ARIES: Solutions at any Scale
Annabelle Pratt is a chief engineer in NREL's power systems engineering center whose motivation for her work runs deep.
Introducing GeoBridge, a New Launch Point for Geothermal Information
If you have ever struggled to find geothermal degree programs, conferences, trade associations, tax incentives, or other geothermal information, you are not alone.
NREL's Greg Martin Helps Engineer Energy Integration Onto the Grid
The group manager was singled out as a Distinguished Member of Operations Staff "for exemplary leadership, technical acumen, strategic vision, and unwavering passion for mission-oriented collaboration."
Planning and Development Pathways for Building Interregional Transmission
A new study by NREL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory provides practical options for developing more interregional transmission infrastructure to move toward a transformed power system.
Last Updated May 28, 2025