DOE and Congressional Visitors Tour NREL's FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Research Facilities
April 26, 2004
 |
|
NREL's Stan Bull talks to (from left) Assistant Secretary David Garman, Deputy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow and staff member, Director Richard Truly, and CTTS' Rob Farrington about NREL's work on reducing vehicle fuel consumption using "ADAM," the thermal comfort manikin (pictured sitting). Photo courtesy of Jack Dempsey. |
 |
|
U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez (left) watches as Deputy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow addresses NREL employees. Photo courtesy of Jack Dempsey. |
Kyle McSlarrow, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) deputy secretary, and David Garman, assistant secretary of energy efficiency and renewable energy and soon to be acting undersecretary of DOE, toured several renewable energy sites in the Rocky Mountain West, promoting renewable energy in Colorado and New Mexico.
McSlarrow made his inaugural visit to the NREL on April 13, 2004, accompanied by Garman and U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.). While at NREL, the groups visited many facilities, including the Vehicle Ancillary Load Reduction Laboratories. At the Vehicle Climate Control Laboratory, they met "ADAM," the most advanced thermal comfort manikin in the world, recently completed..
ADAM's goal is to predict the comfort of a car's occupants, enabling researchers to create thermal comfort systems that maximize occupant comfort and minimize fuel consumption used for climate control. With 126 heating and sweating segments and physiological model control, ADAM will mimic human responses to the transient, nonuniform thermal environment found in motor vehicles.
McSlarrow also addressed more than 400 NREL employees and visiting dignitaries at an all-hands meeting. "First of all, I'd like to thank you for all that you do," McSlarrow said. "You really embody the best in class across the board. How you do your work is as important as what you do."
On April 15 and 16, U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.), representatives from the University of Minnesota, energy industry officials from Minnesota, congressional staffers, and DOE officials toured NREL facilities and got a firsthand look at ADAM and other work supporting DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program goals.