Dr. Ryne P. Raffaelle is the Director of the National Center for Photovoltaics at NREL. Before joining NREL Dr. Raffaelle was the Academic Director for the Golisano Institute for Sustainability and Director of the NanoPower Research Laboratory at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York. Dr. Raffaelle has more than 20 years experience leading laboratory research teams. While directing the two institutions at RIT, he also served as a professor of physics, microsystems engineering and sustainability, and was responsible for more than $20 million in research grants in photovoltaics, thin-film processing, and nanomaterials research. He co-founded two photovoltaic and power system start-up companies: Wakonda Technologies, Inc. in 2008 and Alpha V, Inc. in 2002. His career included working as a visiting scientist at the NASA-Glenn Research Center; the NASA Lewis Research Center; and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He was a professor of physics and space sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology from 1992-1999. Dr. Raffaelle has authored or co-authored over 150 refereed publications and books. He is co-editor of Progress in Photovoltaics and has served on the organizing committee for the past four IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conferences and the last World Conference, and is a member of the AIAA Technical Committee on Aerospace Power. He has a Ph.D. in physics from University of Missouri-Rolla, and bachelor of science and a master of science degrees in physics from Southern Illinois University.
About the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the nation's primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development (R&D).
NREL's mission and strategy are focused on advancing the U.S. Department of Energy's and our nation's energy goals. The laboratory's scientists and researchers support critical market objectives to accelerate research from scientific innovations to market-viable alternative energy solutions. At the core of this strategic direction are NREL's research and technology development competencies. These areas span from understanding renewable resources for energy, to the conversion of these resources to renewable electricity and fuels, and ultimately to the use of renewable electricity and fuels in homes, commercial buildings, and vehicles. The laboratory thereby directly contributes to our nation's goal for finding new renewable ways to power our homes, businesses, and cars.
NREL's focused R&D capabilities are positioned to advance national energy goals by developing innovations to change the way we power our homes and businesses, and fuel our cars. Our R&D capabilities allow us to develop and advance renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies more effectively through the full R&D life-cycle-from basic scientific research through applied research and engineering; to testing, scale-up, and demonstration. NREL's R&D areas of expertise are:
A critical part of the Lab's mission is the transfer of NREL-developed technologies to renewable energy markets. NREL's Commercialization & Technology Transfer Office supports laboratory scientists and engineers in the successful and practical application of their expertise and the technologies they develop. NREL's world-class R&D staff and facilities are recognized and valued by industry, as demonstrated through hundreds of collaborative research projects and licensed technologies with public and private partners. NREL's innovative technologies have also been recognized with 45 R&D 100 awards. The engineering and science behind these technology transfer successes and awards demonstrates NREL's commitment to developing and applying innovative renewable energy solutions for the nation's secure and sustainable energy future.
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