Mission

The Energy Center is a university-wide and cross-disciplinary organization with the responsibility of coordinating all R&D activities on campus related to energy. EPFL has a very broad energy portfolio located within major laboratories in all five major Facultés (Schools), ranging, for example, from electric power production, distribution and end use to controlled fusion, from hydropower generation to photovoltaics, from building technologies to thermal turbo-machinery. The Energy Center also aims to incorporate R&D activities related to economics of energy and public policy.

Biography

Hans B. (Teddy)Pűttgen holds the Chaire de Gestion des Systèmes Energétiques (Energy Systems Management Chair) at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. Upon his arrival at EPFL, in April 2006, he also became the inaugural Director of the Energy Center at EPFL. The Energy Center is a university-wide and cross-disciplinary organization with the responsibility of coordinating all R&D activities on campus related to energy. EPFL has a very broad energy portfolio located within major laboratories in all five major Facultés (Schools), ranging, for example, from electric power production, distribution and end use to controlled fusion, from hydropower generation to photovoltaics, from building technologies to thermal turbo-machinery. The Energy Center also aims to incorporate R&D activities related to economics of energy and public policy. Before arriving at EPFL, Professor Püttgen was Georgia Power Professor and Vice Chair for External Affairs in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. At Georgia Tech, he launched the National Electric Energy Test, Research and Application Center, NEETRAC, and served as its Director and Management Board Chair. NEETRAC is a membership driven organization focusing on research and test projects in the field of electric power delivery systems and apparatus. NEETRAC, with an annual budget in excess of five million USD, has over 30 corporate members among major US electric utilities and equipment manufacturers. Since December 2006 Teddy Püttgen is Georgia Power Professor Emeritus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Until his arrival at EPFL, Teddy Pűttgen served as Président and CEO of Georgia Tech Lorraine, the European campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology located in Metz, France. Created in 1990, Georgia Tech Lorraine has become the model for cooperation between American and European universities regarding undergraduate and graduate engineering education as well as leading-edge research. Teddy Pűttgen, who is a Senior Member of PES, served as President of the Power Engineering Society of IEEE in 2004 and 2005 and is a member of the Governing Board and the Executive Committee. He is a recipient of the IEEE third millennium medal. He graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne with the Ingénieur Diplômé degree in Electrical Engineering. He holds graduate degrees in Business Administration and Management from the University of Lausanne. His PhD, in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in electric power, is from the University of Florida. He is a past recipient of the IEEE Award for Outstanding Faculty Advisor and of the ASEE DOW Outstanding Young Faculty award. He is a member of the Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Pi Beta and Eta Kappa Nu honor societies.