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Independent PIERReview Panel Report March 20, 2001. (Adobe Acrobat PDF file, 34 pages 1.5 megabytes)
News Release About Report
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Public Resources Code Section 25620.9(a) requires the Energy Commission, by January 1, 1999, to designate a panel of independent experts "to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the PIER program" for submittal to the Governor and Legislature. The law further specifies that the panel must have "special expertise in public interest research, development and demonstration programs, and shall evaluate the public value of the PIER program, including but not limited to (1) the monetary and non-monetary benefits to the public health and the environment, and (2) the benefits of those programs in providing funds for technology development that would otherwise not be funded." The panel is required to submit its preliminary report to the Governor and the Legislature by March 31, 2000, and a final report including additional findings and recommendations is due by March 31, 2001.
In the fourth quarter of 1998, following extensive statewide and national contacts, the Energy Commission sought and obtained specific assistance and recommendations concerning panel selection from two outstanding California-based organizations, the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and the RAND Corporation. Both organizations have unique expertise in the selection of such panels and in the evaluation of public interest research programs. Based on this input and the recommendations of the RD&D Committee, the Energy Commission designated nine outstanding individuals to serve on the Independent PIER Evaluation Panel at its Business Meeting on December 16, 1998. A list and summary description of the designated panel members is below. The panel held its first meeting in February 1999.
Charter of the Independent PIER Review Panel
Members of Independent PIER Review Panel
July 1999
Dr. Harold M. Agnew is retired President, General Atomics and Past Director of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. He was Science Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe 1961-64 and a New Mexico State Senator from 1955-61. Dr Agnew's honors and awards include: recipient of the Ernest Orlando Lawrence award, 1966; and the Enrico Fermi award, 1978. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.
Dr. Richard E. Balzhiser retired as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, California in August 1996. He remains active in a President Emeritus role at EPRI in addition to serving on several industry boards and technical advisory committees. Dr. Balzhiser currently serves a variety of boards and committees including the Energy Subcommittee of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Advisory Board, the Pacific Northwest Laboratory Advisory Committee, and the Technical Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Laboratory.
Dr Linda R. Cohen is Professor and Chair for the Department of Economics at the University of California, Irvine. Her fields of study are political economy, government regulation, government policy for science and technology, and positive political theory and law. Dr Cohen has advised numerous federal departments and agencies on science policies, including the Departments of Energy and Commerce, the Office of Technology Assessment and the Congressional Research Service and has served on several committees for the National Research Council. She has testified before state agencies and commissions, including the California Energy Commission and the California Constitutional Reform Commission
Dr. John S. Foster Jr. is a retired Vice President of Science and Technology of TRW Inc. and former chairman of the Defense Science Board. Dr. Foster is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pilkington Aerospace, chairman of Technology Strategies and Alliances, and consultant to TRW, United Technologies Corporation and Defense Group, Inc. His field of specialization is Industrial Manufacturing and Operating Systems Engineering and he is recognized for his work in technological leadership in defense research and engineering. Dr. Foster was the director for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 1961 to 1965. In 1965, Dr. Foster left the Lab for Washington and became Director of Defense Research and Engineering.
Dr. T. Kenneth Fowler is retired Professor of the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Fowler helped establish the multi-disciplinary Center for Nuclear and Toxic Waste Management at UC Berkeley. His honors and awards include elected membership in the National Academy of Sciences; Fusion Power Associates Distinguished Career Award, 1995; and The Berkeley Citation, 1995. Dr. Fowler's areas of interest include energy research funding and the appropriate role of government in anticipating problems of energy-associated pollution and energy-associated competition for resources in its research funding policies.
Mr. Peter M. Miller is a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., a nonprofit national environmental organization. He is part of NRDC's energy project, which promotes the increased development of energy efficiency and other environmentally sound and cost-effective energy resources. His work involves research, analysis, and advocacy at the state, national, and international levels. He has participated in utility advisory committees in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest, in numerous proceedings before the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission and the Northwest Power Planning Council, and in rulemakings before the U.S. Department of Energy. He was appointed to the California Board for Energy Efficiency in April 1997.
Dr. James L. Sweeney is Professor and Chair for the Department of Engineering-Economic Systems and Operations Research, Stanford University. Dr. Sweeney has 25 plus years of experience working in energy and environmental economic issues, having worked at the federal level in the Federal Energy administration in the 1970's, to a long history of research and analysis in energy economics and technology issues. Dr. Sweeney has had inputs into a number of National Energy Plans, is a member of the National Research Council and has been president of the International Association for Energy Economics.
Dr. Mary L. Walshok is Associate Vice Chancellor - Extended Studies and Public Programs and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego. She is the recipient of many awards and honors, among them a Kellogg Foundation national fellowship. Dr. Walshok serves on the board of the California Council for the Humanities and is a member of Governor Wilsonıs Economic Strategies Panel. She also is a member of numerous community boards and professional associations including the San Diego Community Foundation, Girard Foundation, Eureka Communities, Foundation for Enterprise Development and ACCION.
Mr. Carl J. Weinberg is currently a private consultant after retiring from Pacific Gas and Electric Company where he worked for almost 20 years including 8 years as Manager of Research and Development. Mr. Weinberg has been a contributor to development and implementation of corporate, industry and national energy policies and strategies through research program management. He has extensive understanding of energy technologies including commercial and potential renewable and conservation technologies and has demonstrated effectiveness at accelerating technology readiness and proving technology benefits
Dr. Patricia A. Buffler is Dean Emerita and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Dr Buffler's research interests include epidemiology of childhood leukemia and health effects of nonionizing radiation, environmental tobacco smoke and exposure to hazardous waste sites. She serves on the Board of Directors, USJapan Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan; the World Health Organization, Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health; the US Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board; the US Public Health Service Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Task Force on Community Preventive Services; and the National Institutes of Health, National Advisory Council on Environmental Health Sciences.
Mr. Fred W. Kittler is co-founder and principal of Velocity Capital Management, an investment firm based in Palo Alto that provides equity funding for public and private technology and communications companies. Mr. Kittler was a research analyst and portfolio manager for J. P. Morgan Investment Management where he managed an $800 million portfolio of small technology and health science company stocks. He serves on the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology for the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and previously established a foundation, Connections for Learning, to promote the use of computer networks for K-12 education in the New York area.
Dr. Esteban Soriano established his own market research and program assessment company, The Resource Group (specializing in educational and economic assessments). He currently serves as Vice President for University Advancement at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is an expert in communication strategies, economic impact studies and assessments, methodology and research design and has extensive experience relating to electric and water utilities.
DOCUMENTS
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2001 Independent PIER Review Panel Report, March 20, 2001.
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2000 Independent PIER Review Panel Report, March 20, 2000.
The panel operates independently from the California Energy Commission.
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