In 2005, Dan Arvizu was named Director and Chief Executive of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL, located in Golden, Colorado, is the nation?s primary laboratory for energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development. Arvizu is also a Senior Vice President with Midwest Research Institute, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, which leads the integrated team that manages NREL on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy.Prior to joining NREL, Arvizu was a Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Federal and Industrial Client Groups at CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd. While there, he oversaw technology development and acquisitions for seven business groups including energy and power, environmental services, telecommunications, industrial design and processes businesses. Before joining CH2M, he was an executive with Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he worked for over 20 years. Dr. Arvizu spent his early career working for the AT&T Bell Telephone Labs Customer Switching Laboratory prior to transferring to Sandia.Dr. Arvizu has served on a number of Boards and Advisory Committees including the Secretary of Energy?s National Coal Council, Secretary of Defense?s Army Science Board, and as an Advisor for the Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. In 2000-2002, he served on the Technical Advisory Board of the G8 International Renewable Energy Task Force. Presently, he serves on several university advisory boards, on a National Research Council Study Panel on energy, and on the Board of Directors of the National Hispanic National Achievement Awards Corporation.Dr. Arvizu has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the 1996 Hispapanic Engineer National Achievement Award for Executive Excellence. He was appointed a Technology Fellow of CH2M HILL in 1999, and was recognized by Hispanic Engineer Magazine in 2003 and 2004 as ?One of the 50 Most Important Hispanics in Business and Technology? Arvizu was appointed to the National Science Board in 2004. Dr. Arvizu earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering at New Mexico State University. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Stanford University.
