Biosketch

David Auston is Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) of the University of California Santa Barbara. The IEE is dedicated to advancing and promoting energy efficiency and clean energy technology, especially through science and engineering research. His current focus of activity is the UC President?s Initiative on Carbon Neutrality, whereby all 10 campuses aim to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. As a member of the President?s Global Climate Leadership Council, he works with both the UC system and UCSB to develop & deploy the technology necessary to accomplish this ambitious goal. Prior to joining UCSB, he was the first President of the Kavli Foundation, dedicated to supporting basic scientific research in astrophysics, neuroscience and nanoscience. He has been a member of the technical staff and department head at AT&T?s Bell Laboratories (now Alcatel-Lucent Technologies), Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics and Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University, Provost of Rice University, and President of Case Western Reserve University. David Auston has contributed to research in the fields of lasers, nonlinear optics, and solid-state materials. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Optical Society of America, and the American Physical Society. A native of Toronto, Canada, David Auston earned bachelors and masters degrees in engineering physics and electrical engineering from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Research Interests

Sustainability, climate change mitigation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage, and research administration.

Membership Type

Member

Election Year

1991

Primary Section

Section 31: Engineering Sciences

Secondary Section

Section 33: Applied Physical Sciences