President-elect Joe Biden has nominated CITRIS senior research fellow and CITRIS Policy Lab advisory board member Jennifer Granholm as the next U.S. Secretary of Energy.
Jennifer Granholm served as Michigan’s 47th governor from 200–11. As governor, Granholm led the state of Michigan through a brutal economic downturn that resulted from a meltdown in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. She worked relentlessly to diversify the state’s economy, strengthen its auto industry, preserve the manufacturing sector, and add new, emerging sectors, such as clean energy, to Michigan’s economic portfolio.
At CITRIS, Granholm focused on the development of clean energy policy and technology roadmaps through The American Jobs Project. Active 2014–19, The American Jobs Project focused on constructing state-specific policy and technology roadmaps to create good-paying middle-class jobs in advanced energy economic clusters in 10 states.
“Jennifer has been a valued member of the CITRIS community for many years. We are delighted that her deep policy expertise, passion for public service and exceptional leadership skills will benefit the nation in this new capacity,” said CITRIS Director Costas Spanos.
As the head of the United States Department of Energy, Granholm will focus on developing technology for better and more efficient energy sources as well as energy education. If confirmed, she will be the second woman to lead the agency since its creation in 1977 and will oversee 17 national laboratories, a wide range of energy research initiatives, and the National Nuclear Security Administration within the DOE that oversees the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
View Jennifer Granholm’s 2018 Putting AI to Work conference presentation:
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The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS) drive interdisciplinary innovation for social good with faculty researchers and students from four University of California campuses – Berkeley, Davis, Merced, and Santa Cruz – along with public and private partners.
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