Members only: Q&A with ISES Board Members - Solar technologies

Professor Weber is Vice President of ISES and CEO of the Berkeley Alliance for Research in Singapore, BEARS. Till the end of 2016 he was Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and Professor for Physics / Solar Energy at the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Germany.  Prof. Weber studied Physics at the University of Cologne, Germany where he made his doctorate in 1976 and his habilitation in 1983. From 1983-2006 he lectured at the faculty of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of California, Berkeley - since 1991 as Professor of Materials Science. The topic of Prof. Weber's own research is semiconductor materials science for photovoltaic and microelectronic applications.  In 2014, he received the Zayed Future Energy Prize from the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates on behalf of Fraunhofer ISE. In 2015, he was elected president of the Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centers EUREC. He served as founding president of the German Energy Storage Association BVES (2012-16), and is a member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech).

Dr. Morse is the President of Morse Associates, Inc, a renewable energy consulting company formed in 1989. He is the former Senior Advisor of US Operations for Abengoa Solar, Inc. Dr. Morse first became involved in renewable energy issues in the late 1960s when he served as Executive Director of the White House Assessment of Solar Energy as a National Energy Resource. In his work at the US Department of Energy he played a significant role in defining and managing major solar energy R&D programs, including Solar Heating and Cooling, PV and CSP. Dr. Morse is Chairman of the Utility-Scale Solar Power Division of the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Dr. Morse is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, received an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from MIT and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

Steven Meyers is a researcher and PhD student within the Department of Solar and Systems Engineering at the University of Kassel in Germany, made possible through SHINE, a scholarship program funded by the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions). Before this position, he served as a solar engineer at Saudi Aramco and earned his M.S. in mechanical engineering at the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi.

Steven has dedicated his professional life towards the research, development, and deployment of solar thermal projects.  He is currently researching the integration of solar and renewable heat systems for industrial processes to minimize fossil fuel use and carbon emissions. This work complements his other professional goal to realize solar heat projects, contributing towards to the carbon reduction targets for climate change mitigation.

For his efforts, Steven has been recognized in Forbes “30 under 30” list in 2012 and as a St. Gallen Leader of Tomorrow in 2010 and 2012. 

Dr. Renne, the President of ISES, has been involved in the field of solar resource assessment for over 25 years.  From 1991 until his retirement in 2012 he led the solar resource assessment program at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  He served as Operating Agent for the International Energy Agency (IEA) Solar Heating and Cooling (SHC) Programme's Tasks 36/46 on Solar Resource Assessment and Forecasting from 2005 to 2016, and is also involved in the continuation of this work under the IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems (PVPS) Task 16. He is an Associate Editor in the subject are of solar resources and energy meteorology for the Solar Energy Journal. He has extensive international experience in solar resource assessment programs, where he has worked both as a program manager, a trainer, and a consultant on programs such as the UNEP Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) Project, the IRENA Global Atlas, ESMAP/World Bank solar and wind resource assessments, and USAID resource mapping activities in South and Southeast Asia.  

I am a strong advocate for the rapid transformation of the global energy system to renewable energy for all, used wisely and efficiently. Working closely with ISES is an excellent way to contribute to the transformation.  During my 40-year career as an atmospheric chemist specializing in assessments that bring science to support appropriate decision making related to energy and the environment, I have come to deeply appreciate the need for this transformation. I strive to effectively use my expertise in research/analyses, program development, and communications/marketing, along with my commitment to collaborative problem solving, to advance ISES’ work. My professional experience includes leadership positions at University of Texas (PhD Chemistry 1973), National Center for Atmospheric Research, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center at the State University of New York at Albany, Science & Policy Associates, Inc., and RAND.  Ongoing activities include Global Emissions IniAtive (GEIA) coordinator since 1991 and science-based environment/energy advisor to a wide variety of public and private, and stakeholder consortium clients since 2002 through my company Panorama Pathways.  In addition to being ISES Board Secretary, I also am Co-Chair of American Solar Energy Society Board of Directors (the USA Section of ISES).

Monica Oliphant, is Past President of ISES and an Adj. A/Professor at 3 Australian Universities. She was employed for 18 years in the electricity supply industry but now runs her own consultancy. She has received several awards in recognition for her work in renewable energy and has served on a number of Australian Federal and State Australian Government Energy Related Committees.  Currently she is working to develop community-owned solar and energy efficiency projects together with local governments.