Dr. Jeff Ramsdell

Let's talk energy. Dr. Jeff Ramsdell can speak on a large-scale — like how the Appalachian Energy Summit has avoided almost $800 million in utility costs, and explain renewable energy technologies, forecasting and modeling, economic development and policy. He can also talk about the impact people can have at the individual level — including making homes more energy efficient.

Ramsdell is a professor and former graduate program director in Appalachian State University’s Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment and a former director of the Appalachian Energy Center, which works to benefit communities with research that supports new jobs and businesses, and increased investment and income. He also serves as interim vice provost for research in the university’s Office of Research before becoming faculty-in-residence for Appalachian's Innovation Campus.

Ramsdell has led grant-supported research projects related to wind, hydro, solar (photovoltaics and solar thermal), biofuels, biomass and landfill methane gas production. He has worked closely with community-based projects domestically and internationally, from Yancey County’s EnergyXchange initiative, to energy-efficient housing in South Africa and landfill gas collection and utilization to support small businesses and social justice in Brazil.

More recently, he has led the launch of the North Carolina Integrated Electric Utility Research Laboratory (NCIEURlab) with New River Light and Power and UNC Charlotte, integrating diverse research areas in high-voltage electricity distribution, distributed generation, advanced metering, smart grid concepts, consumer behavior, rate design and policy.

Ramsdell’s research has been supported by the University of North Carolina Research Competitiveness Fund, the Golden LEAF Foundation, the North Carolina State Energy Office, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the Biofuels Center of North Carolina.

Areas of expertise

• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Research
• Materials Characterization
• Surface Science
• Innovative Construction Materials
• Alternative Fuels