This spring, the US Department of Energy announced the renewal of Rutgers’ contract to serve as field managers for the Industrial Assessment Center Program through 2023. Professor Michael Muller and his team at the Center for Advanced Energy Systems have been leading this very successful technical assistance program since 1992! The Industrial Assessment Program (enjoying its 40th year) funds 29 engineering schools around the country to send teams of faculty and students into nearby manufacturing plants for a one-day assessment of operations looking for improvements in energy use, environmental performance, and industrial productivity. In addition to providing top-level technical assistance, the program provides hands-on training for the next generation of energy engineers.
Rutgers supports the program as field manager through three main activities. These include the management and quality assurance of centers themselves; developing the value of the assessment process through technical innovation, and broadening the impact of the IAC’s and opportunities in industrial energy efficiency both nationally and internationally. Through his long tenure (arriving on the banks in 1979), Dr. Muller has generated a large network of former students (some working in the field for 30+ years) and a reputation for both practical and academically sound insights into industrial energy systems. At the point in his career for lifetime achievement awards, he was selected last year for the Champion of Energy Efficiency Award by the ACEEE, generally viewed as the highest recognition in this field.