Founding Energy Center director chosen for prestigious national service; Energy Center director search under way
Jay Gore, Reilly Professor of Combustion Engineering at Purdue University and Energy Center director, has been selected as a Jefferson Science Fellow. The University has formed a search committee to solicit and recommend internal candidates to serve as the next director of the Energy Center.
Gore is one of 12 faculty members nationwide to be selected for a prestigious Jefferson Science Fellowship with the U.S. Department of State. The fellowship begins Aug. 15, 2010. Gore will pass the leadership of the Energy Center to a new director when his Fellowship responsibilities begin in Washington, D.C.
As the founding director of the Energy Center, Gore has contributed to numerous energy research initiatives at Purdue. Since its inception, the center has helped seed and facilitate projects resulting in millions of dollars in new research awards. Hundreds of faculty, staff, and students from nine colleges and schools, along with staff from Purdue Physical Facilities, are affiliated with the Energy Center. With Gore's leadership an external advisory board of nationally recognized leaders in energy research and policy was established. Multidisciplinary research areas supported by the center include advanced vehicle ground power; batteries and advanced electrochemical systems; bioenergy; clean coal technologies; global partnerships; green buildings; hydrogen systems; materials for extreme environments; nuclear energy; social, economic, and political aspects of energy use; and new technologies in solar, wind, and water. In addition to a vision that Purdue become a global leader in energy, Gore has been a dedicated advocate for education. Each year, the Energy Center hosts or sponsors workshops, conferences, and lectures to further the education mission of the center and the University. Gore also founded the highly successful Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program at Purdue.
The Pioneers in Energy lecture series is one of the Energy Center's notable events. In 2005, the late Nobel Prize winner Richard Smalley launched the lecture series by focusing on grand challenge areas in energy and its impact on societal issues. Since then, world-class leaders in energy have delivered lectures to the Lafayette-area community highlighting issues in energy research and policy.
Richard Buckius, vice president for research at Purdue University, said, "Jay Gore's dedication to ushering in a robust energy research and education program and his vision to build a community focused on sustainable activities has provided an essential conduit for new initiatives in research at Purdue. The U.S. Department of State will be well served by his leadership."
Gore, a professor of mechanical engineering with courtesy appointments in aeronautics and astronautics and chemical engineering, was associate dean of engineering for research and entrepreneurship from 2002 to 2007. His research interests are in combustion and radiation heat transfer with applications in pollutant reduction, efficiency enhancement, and fire safety. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 archival journal and conference papers and book chapters. He is a fellow of the ASME and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and served as an associate editor of the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer and of the AIAA Journal. He also served as the Central States Section chair and U.S. technical editor of the 26th International Symposium for the Combustion Institute.
All Jefferson Fellowships are contingent upon awardees obtaining an official U.S. government security clearance.