Brent Nelson
Manager of Engineering and Informatics for the Materials and Chemicals Science and Technology directorate of NREL
Brent spent the first part of his career studying second-generation photovoltaic (PV) devices; primarily hydrogenated amorphous silicon and its alloys at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He has authored eighteen publications and numerous internal documents as well as coauthored an additional 77 other scientific publications. Brent referee’s papers for numerous journals and conferences. With more than 500 citations for his research, and having given dozens of scientific talks, Brent’s work is well recognized in the amorphous silicon PV field. Currently Brent manages the Engineering and Informatics group for the Materials and Chemicals Science and Technology directorate at NREL. This is a group of engineers and technicians that keep research equipment “experiment ready” and state-of-the-art. This is in support of technologies ranging from photovoltaics (PV) to nano particle generation to fuel cells to batteries. Brent is also a well-known within the PV community for his expertise in safety practices in working with hazardous production materials (HPMs) and has chaired the HPM safety panel at NREL for over a decade. He has been on the organizing committee for six international scientific conferences including a joint conference of the premier United States, Asian, and European PV communities. Brent also volunteers with the NREL education office on promoting renewable energy in the classroom and is on the advisory board for a Renewable Energy Class at a local high school. Known as an energy wonk and he gives talks on the bigger energy picture to numerous community and industrial groups.