Leadership

BILL RITTER, Director, Center for the New Energy Economy

Colorado's 41st Governor and former District Attorney for the City and County of Denver, is the founding director of the Center for the New Energy Economy.  The Center is a privately-funded initiative to support the growth of a clean energy economy across the United States at Colorado State University.  The mission of the Center is to incorporate best practices from around the nation and world to accelerate the development of clean energy, which includes technologies and resources who life-cycle impacts are beneficial to national security, economic vitality, energy supply sustainability, environmental health, public health, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the conservation and restoration of ecosystem services, social equity, high-quality jobs, and wise use of water and other critical natural resources.  Ritter and his Center’s team has been working directly with Governors, legislators, regulators, planners, policy makers and other decision makers by providing technical assistance to help them create the policies and practices that will facilitate America's transition to a clean energy economy that includes encouraging environmentally sound practices in natural gas production and use. He has been recognized internationally and has received numerous awards for his efforts.  

DIANA WALL, Director, School of Global Environmental Sustainability

A soil ecologist and environmental scientist, Dr. Wall is actively engaged in global research to sustain soils and has spent more than 20 seasons in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys examining how global changes impact soil biodiversity, ecosystem processes and ecosystem services. She is Director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability, is a University Distinguished Professor , Professor of Biology and a Senior Research Scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory. She was honored by The British Ecological Society as the 2011 Tansley Lecturer and Wall Valley, Antarctica was designated in recognition of her research contributions. Dr. Wall is a National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences, has an Honorary Doctorate from Utrecht University, The Netherlands and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She served as member of the US Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel (2012), the US Commission of UNESCO and was co-lead author of the Millennium Development Goals Committee Chapter of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. She is a Board Member of the World Resources Institute and Island Press, and has served as President of the Ecological Society of America, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, Chair, Council of Scientific Society Presidents and other scientific societies. Her edited books include two on sustaining soil biodiversity and ecosystem services. She received her Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky, Lexington.

BRYAN WILLSON, Director, Engines and Energy Conversion Lab and ARPA-E Natural Gas Program Director

Dr. Bryan Willson is a professor of mechanical engineering and is founder of Colorado State's Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory (EECL), a world leader in the study of internal combustion engines, natural gas technology, algae biofuels, intelligent electric grids, advanced building technology, technology for the developing world, and clean cook stoves. He is active in technology commercialization and is founder and board member of Envirofit International Ltd., a non-profit corporation that develops clean energy technology for the developing world, with particular focus on two-stroke engines and clean cook stoves.  In 2009, Willson was recognized by Scientific American, joining President Barack Obama, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, in its inaugural list of the "Scientific American 10" — ten individuals who have made significant contributions to guiding science to serve humanity on a global basis.  For over 20 years, the EECL has been engaged in the development of technologies to reduce the environmental impact of oil and gas production and has developed a suite of emissions reduction technologies that are now in widespread use on the natural gas pipeline system.

BILL FARLAND, CSU Vice President of Research

Dr. William H. Farland is currently the Vice President for Research at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO.  He is also a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at that institution.  He serves as the chief institutional advocate and facilitator for faculty research activities and is responsible for programmatic excellence in research. Specific responsibilities of the position include oversight and promotion of external research funding and associated regulations, needs and capabilities; serving as liaison with federal research officials and agencies; identification of research opportunities; and development and oversight of interdisciplinary programs and research centers, including CSU’s Superclusters in biomedicine and clean energy.

Dr. Farland holds a Ph.D. (1976) from UCLA in Cell Biology and Biochemistry.  He is routinely sought after to serve on executive-level committees and advisory boards within Colorado, nationally, and internationally. Dr. Farland has received numerous awards and honors for his work.