GEM Receives 2022 Presidential Award for Excellence in promoting STEM


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Johney B. Green, Jr., PhD

Chair

Dr. Johney Green Jr. serves as the Associate Laboratory Director for mechanical and thermal engineering sciences at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He oversees NREL’s transportation, buildings, wind, water, geothermal, advanced manufacturing, and concentrating solar power research programs, which encompass a portfolio of approximately $100 million and more than 300 employees. The Mechanical and Thermal Engineering Sciences Directorate conducts research and development to enable technology innovations in the areas of energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and renewable power.

Prior to assuming his current position, Green held a number of leadership roles at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he served as Director of the Energy and Transportation Science Division and Group Leader for fuels, engines, and emissions research. Green managed a broad science and technology portfolio and user facilities that made significant science and engineering advances in building technologies; sustainable industrial and manufacturing processes; fuels, engines, emissions, and transportation analysis; and vehicle systems integration. During his tenure as a Division Director ORNL developed the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) demonstration project, a model of innovative vehicle-to-grid integration technologies and next-generation manufacturing processes.

Early in his career, Green conducted combustion research to stabilize gasoline engine operation under extreme conditions. During the course of that research, he joined a team working with Ford Motor Company, seeking ways to simultaneously extend exhaust gas recirculation limits in diesel engines and reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions. He continued this collaboration as a visiting scientist at Ford’s Scientific Research Laboratory, conducting modeling and experimental research for advanced diesel engines designed for light-duty vehicles. On assignment to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office, Green also served as technical coordinator for the 21st Century Truck Partnership.

Green is on the Faraday Institution’s Board of Trustees and the National GEM Consortium Board of Directors. In addition, he has served on numerous advisory boards for organizations, including the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Memphis. He is a fellow of SAE International and has been an invited participant in several National Academy of Engineering programs. Green has received several awards during his career and holds two U.S. patents in combustion science. Additionally, he has a h-index of 18, is the lead or co-author of several articles in technical publications, and has conducted many invited, keynote, and plenary presentations.

Green holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Memphis and a Master’s and Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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