Known in solar energy circles simply as "Kaz," Kazmerski is director of the National Center for Photovoltaics, located at NREL. He was the first staff member in photovoltaics at NREL's predecessor, the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI).

GOLDEN, COLO., MARCH 3, 2005 - Dr. Lawrence Kazmerski, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) since its inception, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Membership in the academy is one of the highest honors accorded an engineer, bestowed on those in the profession who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education, and to the pioneers of new and developing fields of technology.

Known in solar energy circles simply as "Kaz," Kazmerski is director of the National Center for Photovoltaics, located at NREL. He was the first staff member in photovoltaics at NREL's predecessor, the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI).

"I congratulate Dr. Kazmerski for this significant achievement," said David Garman, DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "Kaz is known around the world for his leadership in solar energy research. NREL, DOE and the nation are fortunate to have such a talented and tireless researcher who has devoted his life to this important work."

NREL Director Dr. Dan Arvizu echoed the praise. "Kaz isn't just a leading light for the discipline of engineering, he's become a veritable institution in the field of solar energy," Arvizu said. "I join with everyone here at NREL in saluting him."

Kazmerski received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1970, and was on the faculty of the University of Maine before coming to SERI in 1977. He has held adjunct professorships at the University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines and the University of Denver.

Kazmerski has published more than 290 journal papers in the areas of solar cells, thin films, semiconductor materials and devices, surface and interface analysis, scanning probe microscopy, nanoscale technology, high-temperature superconductivity and semiconductor defects.

An author and editor of four books, Kazmerski is editor-in-chief of the Elsevier journal, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. He has three R&D 100 Awards. Kazmerski is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle.