GLEI Advisory Board member Dr. Suresh Baskaran, the chief science and technology officer for energy and environmental research at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was recently selected to become a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences. He joins other scientists and engineers from across Washington state being recognized for outstanding scientific achievement and leadership. Academy members provide expert scientific and engineering analysis to inform public policy-making, and work to increase the role and visibility of science in the state.

The academy was created in 2005 and consists of members from diverse academic disciplines and industries, including aerospace, agriculture, computer, science, energy, engineering, ecology and transportation.

Twenty-four new members were inducted this year, bringing the total number of active members to 264. The incoming members were recently honored at the academy's annual meeting in Seattle in September.

Suresh Baskaran

Dr. Baskaran is the chief science and technology officer for energy and environmental research at PNNL. He is responsible for directing science and technology investments to deliver solutions for the nation's most important energy and environment challenges. He was recognized for development of new materials for automotive, fuel cell, and microelectronic applications; leadership of hydrogen and gas separations research; and leadership in advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. His research is reflected in 50 technical papers, ten U.S. patents, a spark plug resistor technology that was put into full-scale production by industry, and an R&D 100 award for automotive emissions control in 2001 given by R&D Magazine for the most technologically significant new innovations of the year.