Art Rosenfeld, the “Godfather of Energy Efficiency” and an ACEEE founder, passed away today

Art Rosenfeld, a leading physicist and one of the founders of ACEEE, passed away today at age 90. Art began the energy efficiency research program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in the 1970s, and was instrumental in training and motivating an entire generation of energy efficiency practitioners. He helped found ACEEE in 1980, was a member of the board of directors until 2013, and has been a member of our Research Advisory Board since then. More than anyone else, Art was responsible for conducting early research on utilizing energy efficiency as a resource and publicly championing the fact that investing in energy efficiency is often less expensive than building more power plants. His work has influenced energy policy in California, the United States, and internationally, and it would be impossible to estimate how many billions of dollars and tons of carbon dioxide emissions have been saved due to his efforts.

We will miss Art—not only his technical contributions, but his wit and warmth- and will cherish his memory. We will continue to follow his vision of conducting cogent analyses, and clearly presenting the facts to policymakers and the public in order to influence programs and policies.

A full tribute has been posted by LBNL: http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2017/01/27/art-rosenfeld-californias-godfather-energy-efficiency-90/

A video tribute to Art (embedded above) compiled by ACEEE in 2014 is here: http://aceee.org/blog/2014/10/tribute-art-rosenfeld-our-founder-leader-mentor-and-friend

About ACEEE: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and conferences, visit aceee.org