The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), funded through the U.S. Department of Energy, is the nation’s primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. Led by Dr. Dan E. Arvizu, NREL’s areas of research and development expertise are renewable electricity, renewable fuels, integrated energy systems and strategic energy analysis.

The son of Mexican immigrants, Arvizu became NREL’s eighth laboratory director in January 2005. He sits on the National Science Board, the governing body of the National Science Foundation and is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. In the past five years, he has overseen an increase of more than 50 percent in the lab’s operating budget, a doubling of technical lab staff and has attracted more than $400 million for new infrastructure. Prior to joining NREL, Arvizu was the chief technology officer with CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd. and an executive with Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M.