Michael Sprague leads several projects in high-fidelity modeling and high-performance computing (HPC) for wind energy. Since 2016, he has been principal investigator for development of the ExaWind suite of codes, which is funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office and the DOE Exascale Computing Project. ExaWind was created to achieve the highest-fidelity simulations of wind turbines and wind farms utilizing the latest DOE supercomputers. Mike also coordinates compute-time allocations for wind on NREL HPC systems. Before coming to NREL in 2010, Mike spent five years as a founding-faculty assistant professor of applied mathematics at the University of California, Merced, where he was the lead in developing a new graduate program in applied mathematics. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Research Interests

Computational fluid dynamics

Computational structural dynamics

High-performance computing

High-fidelity modeling for wind energy

Education

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder

M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin – Madison

Professional Experience

Associate Editor, Journal of Solar Energy Engineering - Including Wind Energy and Building Energy Conservation (2020–Present)

Research Scientist, National Wind Technology Center, NREL (2016–Present)

Research Scientist, Computational Science Center, NREL (2010–2016)

Assistant Professor, Applied Mathematics, University of California Merced (2005–2010)

Visiting Assistant Professor, EGIM, Laboratoire de Modélisation en Mécanique, Marseille, France (2005, 2007)

Research Associate, Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder (2003–2005)

Adjunct Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder (2002–2003)