Vasilis Fthenakis
Senior Scientist, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University
A Senior Scientist at Brookhaven, Fthenakis earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Athens, a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in fluid dynamics and atmospheric science from New York University. Fthenakis directs the National Photovoltaic Environmental Research Center at BNL, and in a joint appointment with Columbia University, he also directs the Center for Life Cycle Analysis at Columbia, which he founded in 2006. Fthenakis rigorous and proactive research and dissemination by leading publications and presentations, provided the underpinning of thin-film PV technologies in terms of their lifecycle impacts. His work is a crucial part of the scholarly landscape for comparing PV with other energy options. His research on LCA since 2004 has produced 45 journal and conference papers (in a total of about 240 publications on energy and environmental topics). Lately he published leading articles in Scientific American and Energy Policy showing how solar energy can satisfy all the energy needs of the US. His research was highlighted in the New York Times, Science News, ES&T, IEEE Spectrum, Scientific American, Spiegel, NRC Handelsblad, and was broadcasted with interviews in several radio and TV programs. Fthenakis has participated in Expert Panels for the U.S. Department of Energy, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, the California Energy Commission, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the New York Academy of Sciences. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a Fellow of the International Energy Foundation, he leads the International Energy Agency Task on PV-EH&S and serves in the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Loss Prevention and the Journal Progress in Photovoltaics.