Awarded 2011 Global Energy Prize in recognition of his pioneering energy efficiency work.
Arthur H. Rosenfeld (born 1927) is an outstanding scientist, known for his innovative scientific and technological developments in the design and construction of energy efficient buildings, created by him and his team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Rosenfeld’s many ideas have gone from concept to prototype, manufacture and market. The economic advantages and environmental benefits resulting from his research are widely spread across the globe and continue to influence the world.
In the course of 20 years doctor Rosenfeld was the head of Center for construction science at National laboratory named after Lawrence Berkeley in California, for 10 years he held the position of head of this state Energy commission. Among the scientist’s and his colleagues’ achievements – development of compact luminous tube lamp and heat-reflecting windows used in the whole world. In 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission decided to allocate 3.1 billion dollars over three years (from 2010 to 2012) into a special fund for energy-efficiency programs. This decision was made in recognition of Arthur Rosenfeld’s achievements and contributions to energy efficiency and demand management.
Arthur Rosenfeld is a member of US National Engineering Academy, numerous awards’ winner. The Economist magazine presented him with the title “The innovator of the year”, whereas US President gave him The Enrico Fermi Award.
The scientist was responsible for the development of the computer program DOE-2 for the Ministry of Energy. This program is used for standards’ development and construction optimization. The research team led by Arthur Rosenfeld introduced the standards for 6-7 types of commercial and domestic buildings, which must accord with energy regulations accepted for some climatic zones.
In the laureate’s native state – California – the energy consumption remains on the same level for the last 35 years, despite the growth on the national and global levels. This has become possible due to the introduction of rigid construction standards and existence of widespread and very popular programs on energy efficiency promotion. These programs’ cost is USD 1 billion per year, economy amounts to USD 3 billion.
Dr. Rosenfeld’s influence in the area of energy efficiency is so great that a group of scientists proposed a new unit of energy conservation be named after him. One “Rosenfeld” is equal to electricity savings of 3 billion kilowatt-hours per year, which corresponds to the amount needed to replace the annual output of one 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant.
“He recognised early on, earlier than anyone else I think, that really great gains will come from energy efficiency, that there’s an enormity to be gained by this approach,” said Richard Muller, a physicist who took one of Rosenfeld’s graduate courses in 1965.
Dr. Rosenfeld retired at the age of 83, but still is actively promoting energy efficiency. He is currently a Distinguished Scientist Emeritus at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Professor Emeritus of Physics at University of California, Berkeley. He also serves on the Board of the non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
(1927-2017)