Energy Technologies Area Staff Honored in 2025 Director’s Awards
This year’s Director’s Awards at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) recognized several members of Energy Technologies Area (ETA) staff. The research teams leading data center analysis and energy management and information system (EMIS) research were recognized for societal impact, the Cradle to Commerce program and the Modelica open-source library were recognized for tech transfer, and Staff Scientist Marco Pritoni received early scientific career recognition.
The Director’s Awards highlight LBNL employee achievements across a range of categories. A ceremony at the Lab on November 12 honored recipients’ accomplishments, leadership, collaboration, multi-disciplinary science, cross-divisional projects, and commitment to excellence in support of the Lab’s mission and strategic goals.
Pritoni was honored with an Early Scientific Career Award “for advancing smart building interoperability by developing semantic models, driving the adoption of ASHRAE Standard 223, and leading international collaborations.” His pioneering work “...enables scalable energy solutions, enabling broad load flexibility, and fosters industry partnerships.”
The Data Center Analysis Team of Billie Holecek, Nuoa Lei, Eric Masanet, Alex Newkirk, Alex Hubbard, Arman Shehabi, Dale Sartor, and Sarah Smith received a Societal Impact Award “for delivering a landmark assessment of nation-wide data center energy use, directly informing federal action, shaping public discourse, and establishing LBNL as the authoritative source for science-based insight on one of today’s most urgent energy challenges.”
The EMIS Research Team of Armando Casillas, Stacy Curry, Eliot Crowe, Reva Deshpande, Sam Fernandes, Jessica Granderson, Nora Hart, Nathan McKenzie, and Ashleigh Papakyriakou received a Societal Impact Award “for steering and piloting energy management and information system analytics from what was in the early 2000s a raw, unproven emerging technology, to a widely adopted tool to deliver significant energy and cost savings for large commercial building owners.”
The Cradle to Commerce Team of Vidhi Bhatia, Ruby Barcklay, Bonnie Cobiseno, Yashima Jain, Shanshan Li, Reshma Singh, Laura Wong, Ingrid Xhafa, and Wenshuang Zhang received a Tech Transfer Award “for building and executing an unprecedented, multi-lab, public-private incubator to accelerate the technology transfer and commercialization of innovative national lab technologies, positioning LBNL at the forefront of the national labs’ commercialization efforts.”
The Modelica Team of David Blum, Milica Grahovac, Jianjun Hu, Ettore Zanetti, and Michael Wetter received a Tech Transfer Award “for advancing equation-based modeling, forming a community of developers and users, and creating a library with 3000 validated models that is used world-wide to design and operate HVAC equipment and energy and control systems for data centers, buildings, and districts.”
See more about the Director’s Awards and laureates here: recognition.lbl.gov/2025-laureates/