Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
Kenneth E. Eickmann is the deputy director of the University of Texas Center for Energy Security and senior research fellow for all energy related matters at the University. In December 2009, he facilitated a national forum to identify strategic energy goals for the U. S. Air Force and the nation. In 2010, Lt. Gen. Eickmann chaired an Air Force Installation Energy Study designed to determine how best to ensure military installations have energy for mission critical capabilities. Eickmann currently serves on the Military Advisory Board for the Center for Naval Analyses, which completed and published a study in October 2011, laying out the national security imperative to reduce U.S. oil dependence. General Eickmann is a Registered Professional Engineer and is certified as an Acquisition Professional in Acquisition Logistics, Program Management and Systems Planning, Research, Development & Engineering. He is also a recognized expert in propulsion technology and has published several papers in technical journals in the United States and overseas. Following his retirement from the United States Air Force in 1998, he served as the director of the Construction Industry Institute (CII) at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin, where he led a collaborative effort by engineering and construction owners, contractors, and academia to improve one of the nation’s largest industries. General Eickmann’s accomplishments include selection as a Distinguished Engineering Graduate of the University of Texas; selection for membership in the National Academy of Construction; and selection as chairman of a general officer red team formed to review logistics transformation efforts of the U.S. Air Force. He was also a member of a National Research Council committee formed to provide an independent evaluation of the feasibility of achieving the science and technology requirements implied in the National Aerospace Initiative. Eickmann currently serves as the state vice chairman of the Texas Engineers Task Force for Homeland Security. Lt. Gen. Eickmann (ret) is a past member of the Air Force Studies Board and past chair of several NRC studies, including A Review of United States Air Force and Department of Defense Aerospace Propulsion Needs (2006) and Improving the Efficiency of Engines for Large Nonfighter Aircraft (2007).
Robert E. Hebner, Jr., is the director of the Center for Electromechanics and associate director for technology of the Center for Energy Security, both at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout his career, Hebner has served on numerous technical committees that develop voluntary standards for the electric utility industry. His personal research focuses on smart grid technologies, microgrids, renewable energy, and energy storage. He is an active contributor to the Pecan Street program that is helping to gather the information needed to design a smart grid architecture that is attractive to both consumers and industry. Hebner has had extensive experience in technical collaborations, being former chair of the Board of the Center for Transportation and the Environment and chair of the Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the IEEE. He has been selected as vice president elect for the IEEE with responsibility for all of the IEEE’s technical activities. The combination of the Pecan Street and IEEE activities has provided opportunities for unique insight into smart grid and smart city activities in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He has applied this knowledge to military energy activities. He was a founding member of the Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium. He has made significant contributions to the design and operations of ship power systems, which are isolated microgrids. Research in the two centers has led to modeling techniques for power systems for ships, forward bases, and military bases in the United States. In addition, he has been a member of an Air Force study team that assessed the energy security of Air Force bases. Before joining the University of Texas, he spent many years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), culminating his time there as acting director. He also worked in the Office of Management and Budget and at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Throughout his career, Hebner has been active technically, having received a Ph.D. in physics and having authored or coauthored more than 150 technical papers and reports. He is a fellow of the IEEE.
Thom J. Hodgson is the James T. Ryan Distinguished University Professor, an Alumni Distinguished Research Professor, co-director of the Operations Research Program, and director of Graduate Programs of Engineering-On-Line at North Carolina State University (NCSU). He served as director of the Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering Institute at NCSU (‘95-‘11); director of the Division of Design and Manufacturing Systems at the National Science Foundation (‘91-‘93); head of the Industrial Engineering Department at NCSU (‘83-‘90); professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Florida (‘70-‘83); operations research analyst at Ford Motor Company (‘66-‘70); and an officer in the U.S. Army (‘61-‘63). He is a fellow of IIE and INFORMS, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is the author or co-author of over 80 journal articles and book chapters. He served as associate editor, departmental editor (‘81-‘84, ‘88-‘91), and editor-in-chief (‘84-‘88) of IIE Transactions. He served as a member of the U.S. Army Science Board (‘94-‘00).
Gwen P. Holdmann is the director of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP), which is an applied energy research program based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks emphasizing both fossil and renewable/alternative energy technologies. ACEP is a highly interdisciplinary program with over 30 affiliated faculty, spanning a wide range of energy-related disciplines. Prior to joining the University of Alaska, Holdmann served as the vice president of new development at Chena Hot Springs Resort near Fairbanks. While at Chena, Holdmann oversaw the construction of the first geothermal power plant in the state, in addition to numerous other innovative energy projects ranging from hydrogen production to cooling a 10,000 ft2 ice museum year-round using 150°F hot water. Holdmann moved to Alaska in 1994, shortly after graduating from Bradley University with an M.S. in physics and mechanical engineering. Holdmann has been the recipient of several awards throughout her career, including an R&D 100 award, Project of the Year from Power Engineering Magazine, and the Alaska Top 40 Under 40 Award.
Carroll N. LeTellier, a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), was involved in the early design phases for the new Cooper River Bridge. Other significant projects he helped lead include the design and building of the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway, the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore, Locks and Dam 26 on the Mississippi, and multimillion dollar improvements to the physical and technical security of 44 U.S. embassies worldwide. A 1949 graduate of the Citadel, LeTellier served for 27 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He then joined Sverdrup Corporation as vice president, where he served for 25 years until his retirement in 2001. The NAE cited LeTellier for “leadership in the planning, design and construction of major infrastructure and military facilities that meet and serve the highest societal values.” LeTellier has had a lifelong connection with engineering and the Citadel. His father, Louis S. LeTellier, was head of the Citadel’s civil engineering department for many years and served as acting president of the college after the retirement of General Charles P. Summerall in 1953 until the arrival of General Mark Clark in 1954.
James B. Porter, Jr., was chief engineer and vice president of engineering and operations for DuPont until his retirement in September 2008. He joined the company in 1966 as a chemical engineer in the Engineering Service Division (ESD) field program at the Engineering Test Center in Newark, Delaware. He left the same year for a tour in the United States Army and returned in April 1968 as a technical services engineer at DuPont’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, fibers plant. Porter was named vice president of engineering on November 1, 1996. He then became vice president of Safety, Health & Environment and Engineering on February 1, 2004. Porter assumed the position of chief engineer and vice president, DuPont Engineering and Operations on July 1, 2006. He has served as chair for the Construction Industry Institute (CII) and he was the 2004 recipient of CII’s Carroll H. Dunn Award of Excellence. In 2005 he received the Engineering and Construction Contracting Association Achievement Award and in 2007 he was honored with the Society of Women Engineers Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award. In 2008 he was the first recipient of FIATECH’s “James B. Porter, Jr. Award for
Technology Leadership.” He is a member of several boards of directors and is on the Argonne National Laboratory Board of Governors. Today, Porter is the founder and president of Sustainable Operations Solutions, LLC, which provides consulting services to help companies make significant and sustainable improvements in workplace safety, process safety management, capital effectiveness, and operations productivity. He received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Tennessee. Porter is a current member of the Board on Infrastructure and Constructed Environment.
Scott E. Sanders is the current vice president for strategic innovation for Wyle Laboratories, Inc. He is responsible for the cultivation and infusion of innovative science, technology, and processes that overlap energy, environmental, infrastructure, and business considerations. His focus is on solutions that support the DoD marketplace and that facilitate rapid and agile responses to the changing national security environment and the associated culture change methodologies. Sanders has been with Wyle for over 25 years and he previously led a $2 billion contract effort supporting the Defense Technology Information Center, where “operational energy” was infused into the construct of the contract in response to national level emphasis and focus on this critical area. He was responsible for the technical evaluation of rapid responses to deployed forces and the analysis of their merit for distribution to all services. He has worked with several non-profit associations on energy and water issues, such as the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), as well as several major universities. Sanders is a drilling reservist and holds the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. He served as Vice Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Bahrain for 3 years and was the first drilling reservist since WWII to command an at-sea task force (CTF-151 Counter Piracy). He also has served as the Deputy Commander for the largest U.S. Navy Fleet (2nd Fleet) and is currently assigned to the Joint Staff. He has a broad perspective on energy, water usage, and energy- and water-reduction technologies and their application to forward deployed as well as CONUS-based forces. Sanders also has a solid understanding of what partner nations (Middle East and East Africa) are developing and their associated energy security approaches that relate to reduced energy usage and/or reduced dependency on petroleum sources.