National energy policy leader Marilyn Brown to speak at Virginia Tech

Marilyn A. Brown, a member of the National Commission on Energy Policy and chair of Energy Policy at the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy, will speak on Monday, April 21, at 2 p.m. in the Graduate Life Center multipurpose room at Virginia Tech.

Her topic is “The Emergence of Energy Efficiency as the Fifth Fuel.” The talk is the final presentation in the Spring 2008 Energy and Environment Speaker Series sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research. The public is welcome.

The former director of the Engineering Science and Technology Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Brown joined Georgia Tech in 2006. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, she held various leadership positions and led several major energy technology and policy scenario studies. Recognizing her stature as a national leader in the analysis and interpretation of energy futures in the United States, Brown remains affiliated with Oak Ridge as a visiting distinguished scientist.

Brown’s research, publications, and service in energy policy and technology forecasting encompass the development and deployment of sustainable energy technologies, issues surrounding the commercialization of new technologies, and the evaluation of energy programs and policies. Recent projects include an assessment of the $3 billion per year multi-agency U.S. Climate Change Technology Program and development of a national climate change technology policy strategy as required by the 2005 Energy Policy Act.

Her more than 150 publications include “Emerging Industrial Innovations to Create New Energy Efficient Technologies,” with J. A. Laitner, in the Proceedings of the Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (2005); “Assessing U.S. Energy Policy,” with Benjamin Sovacool and Richard F. Hirsh, both of Virginia Tech, which appeared in Daedalus, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2006); and “Mitigating Climate Change through Green Buildings and Smart Growth” with F. Southworth, in Environment and Planning (2006).

Brown has been an expert witness in hearings before committees of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U. S. Senate. She serves on the board of directors of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and the Alliance to Save Energy; she is on the editorial boards of several journals including the Journal of Technology Transfer; and she is a member of the National Academies’ Board of Energy and Environmental Systems.

She received her bachelor of arts in political science from Rutgers University in 1971, her master’s in resource planning from the University of Massachusetts in 1973, and her Ph.D. in geography from The Ohio State University in 1977. She is also a certified energy manager with the Association of Energy Engineers.

For more information, contact Jack Lesko, special assistant for energy initiatives, at (540) 231-5196. Learn more about energy research at Virginia Tech.