NREL Names New Executive

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) named Barbara Goodman as associate laboratory director for renewable fuels and vehicle systems to replace Dale Gardner, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Goodman will join NREL’s executive leadership team and be responsible for the laboratory’s transportation and fuels research and development programs, including hydrogen technologies, vehicle systems and biomass research. In addition, she will oversee the National Bioenergy Center and the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium.

“Barb is an exceptional asset for the Laboratory. Her leadership has been a major force behind NREL’s ability to bring vehicle and fuel technologies to the marketplace,” NREL director Dan Arvizu said. “She has made sure that we are addressing and solving the right problems to reduce our country’s dependence on imported petroleum.”

Goodman has served as director of transportation technologies and systems R&D since 1996. In this position, she was responsible for NREL’s research in advanced vehicles and fuels including evaluating advanced battery technologies and power electronics; measuring emissions; reducing energy requirements associated with heating and cooling vehicles; evaluating effectiveness of advanced fuels in current and future engines; and evaluating air quality impacts.

In her 28-year career at NREL, Goodman has been a staff engineer and program manager for the ethanol, municipal solid waste, and alternative fuels programs. She also served as the operations manager for the Alternative Fuels Division. She oversaw the design of the Alternative Fuels User Facility, developed a new research effort in lactic acid, drafted a comprehensive plan on municipal solid waste, and established the Renewable Fuels and Lubricants Laboratory.

Goodman began her career teaching anthropology at the Community College of Denver and math at the Colorado School of Mines. She has a bachelor of science degree in chemical and petroleum refining engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

She served as the co-editor for the Proceedings of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Symposia on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals; coauthored a book chapter on “Opportunities for Innovation in Biotechnology” published by U.S. Department of Commerce (NIST); and has published numerous scientific papers on a variety of biotechnology and fuels topics. She also serves on the editorial review board for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier Editorial Review Board; the International Chemistry Central Journal Review Board and the Detroit-based Auto Harvest Advisory Board. She is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Goodman is a committed community volunteer, serving as president of the Board of Directors for Community Shares of Colorado and as president of the Lakewood High School Foundation, which she helped establish.