FREDERICK T. (TOM) SPARROW

Consultant, The Energy Center at Discovery Park, Purdue University
Retired-Professor of Industrial Engineering, School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University
Retired-Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Krannert School of Management, Purdue
Retired-Adjunct Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

On the staff of Purdue from 1978 to 2006, Dr. Sparrow’s teaching responsibilities included graduate courses in economic engineering analysis, and mathematical programming.  Until 1999 he served as the director of the College of Engineering’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies, which housed several centers, laboratories, and programs focused on particular problem areas such as biomedical engineering, renewable resources engineering, and transportation.  From 1990 to August 2003 he served as the director of the State Utility Forecasting Group. 

Dr. Sparrow most recently served as director of the Center for Coal Technology Research (CCTR), created at Purdue University by the Indiana legislature in 2002.  Effective July 1, 2003, the legislation allows CCTR to implement public education programs and requires CCTR to appoint a panel of at least eight members, consisting of scientists, engineers, or other professionals, to review and make recommendations about applications for coal research grants to promote the use of Indiana coals.  In the fall of 2005, he was appointed as Executive Director, Coal Research, with the Purdue Energy Center.  He takes a leading role in the Midwest Coal Fuel Alliance (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky) for converting Illinois Basin Coal into transportation fuels (Energy Act of 2005, Obama-Lugar Amendment).  Dr. Sparrow also served as the Director of the Coal Transformation Laboratory in the Energy Center - Discovery Park.

Prior to his association with Purdue, Dr. Sparrow taught for 10 years at The Johns Hopkins University, as well as serving as chairperson of the Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Houston.  He also worked for two years for the Atomic Energy Commission as an Operations Analyst, and for three years for the National Science Foundation, where his last appointment was Deputy Director for Planning and Evaluation for NSF's Research Applied to National Needs Directorate.

Dr. Sparrow's primary concerns are interdisciplinary, with an emphasis on energy modeling and analysis, electrotechnology commercialization, industrial electrification, and transportation.  He is the author or co-author of more than 100 papers, presentations, and reports on these topics, as well as on matters relating to economics, operations research, and industrial engineering.  His honors include selection as a Ford Foundation Research Professor and invitations to speak before various organizations in the U. S., Europe, and Japan.  Dr. Sparrow is consultant to various government agencies, electric utilities, and to the iron and steel industry.  He has also been involved in several international initiatives, including the rebuilding of the higher education system in Afghanistan, and several power-related projects for the Middle East, Bangladesh, and West Africa.