Bor-Rong (Hypo)’s work at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) focuses on building techniques for identifying aging phenomena in fast-charging Lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. These techniques pinpoint where, when, and why aging happens in batteries at an early stage during operation. Hypo’s research will significantly accelerate the development cycles for more durable Li batteries, a critical key for promoting the deployment of electric vehicles and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Noël Bakhtian
Dr. Noël Bakhtian (pronunciation) serves as the founding Executive Director of the Berkeley Lab Energy Storage Center – a lab-wide center accelerating the translation of basic and applied research into real-world energy storage solutions – at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
She is also a Board Member for QSIDE – the Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity – which leverages quantitative methods to reveal and analyze big data in support of grassroots organizations to catalyze systemic change.
Formerly, Dr. Bakhtian served on the Senior Leadership Team at Idaho National Laboratory as director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), where she led a refresh of the mission, vision, and strategy of this research, education, and innovation consortium bringing together INL with the four public research universities of Idaho and Wyoming. She provided Congressional testimony to the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development on “Energy Workforce Opportunities and Challenges” in 2018.
Before moving to the national labs, Dr. Bakhtian served as a senior policy adviser for environment and energy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), as the inaugural Energy-Water Nexus lead at the DOE Office of International Affairs, worked as technical lead on numerous innovative grant programs for DOE’s Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, consulted on energy R&D and investment for DARPA, and served as an energy and environment Fellow in the U.S. Senate.
Dr. Bakhtian earned her engineering doctorate at Stanford University’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics; holds master’s degrees from Stanford University and the University of Cambridge, where she was a Churchill Scholar; and completed her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Duke University.Dr. Bakhtian serves as a member of the National Academies Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy; a member of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee; a member of the founding cohort of the Loomis Innovation Council at the Stimson Center; and is a Professor of the Practice at Boise State University.
Antonio Baclig
In 2021, Dr. Antonio Baclig founded Inlyte Energy to create low-cost grid storage with the support of the Activate Fellowship based at Cyclotron Road in LBNL. Dr. Baclig’s expertise on novel grid battery chemistries stems from his research at Stanford University’s Materials Science & Engineering department, where he received his PhD and postdoc. Prior to that, Dr. Baclig was an early employee at a venture-backed carbon sequestration startup and received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University.
Abigail Anthony
Abigail Anthony was appointed by Governor Gina Raimondo to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission in 2017. Commissioner Anthony is currently the Chair of the Commission on Energy Resources and the Environment of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the President of the Board of the New England Utility Cybersecurity Integration Collaborative. Previously, Commissioner Anthony was the director of Acadia Center’s Grid Modernization and Utility Reform Initiative, and the organization’s Rhode Island director. During her time as director of Acadia Center, she was appointed by Governors Carcieri and Chafee to the Rhode Island Energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council, where she served from 2010 to 2017 overseeing the implementation of the state’s energy efficiency programs and policies.
Commissioner Anthony holds a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Rhode Island. She received her MA and BA in economics from the University of Montana.