Gov. O'Malley Taps Wachsman for Clean Energy Board

Maryland governor Martin O'Malley has appointed William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research and University of Maryland Energy Research Center (UMERC) director Eric Wachsman (joint, Departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering) to the Board of Directors of the Maryland Clean Energy Center. Wachsman, along with fellow new board member George Ashton, co-founder and CFO of Sol Systems, Inc., will help facilitate the adoption and generation of clean energy along with the new jobs, consumer savings and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that come with it, according to a press release from the governor's office.

"I am so proud to announce the appointment of two very talented individuals to the Board of the Maryland Clean Energy Center," said O'Malley. "As Maryland continues to emerge as a national leader in clean energy, their leadership will help us move toward a better and more sustainable future for our children. I'd like to thank them for their willingness to step up and serve the people of our State as we work to find innovative ways to reach our clean energy goals in the toughest of times."

Before joining the Clark School faculty, Wachsman was the director of the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy and a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He has authored dozens of research papers since beginning his career as an engineer for chip-maker Intel. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University.

"We are privileged to have two such high-caliber and forceful clean energy advocates join us as we move into our second year of operation," said I. Katherine Magruder, Executive Director of the Maryland Clean Energy Center.

Wachsman will serve through June 2015. More information is available at www.MDCleanEnergy.org.

Published January 7, 2011