President Barack Obama today nominated a leading researcher in energy efficiency and a winner of the Nobel Prize to serve on the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Dr. Marilyn A. Brown, a professor of energy policy at the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, is the fourth nominee from the White House this year for the TVA board. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Dr. Brown would serve on the 9-member, part-time panel for the next five years.
In 2007, she shared the Nobel Prize for her work with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Former Vice President Al Gore was another winner, all honored for sounding the alarm over global warming and spreading awareness about how to counteract it.
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said he is eager to talk with Dr. Brown about her ideas for TVA.
“I look forward to learning more about Dr. Brown’s views on how TVA can continue its key role both in creating jobs in our region and as a potential leader in the country’s reliable, low-cost, clean-energy future,” Sen. Alexander said in a prepared statement.
Dr. Brown previously headed one of the nation's largest energy efficiency research and development programs at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory before joining the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2006.
She previously launched and headed the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, where she continues to serve on the board of directors.
Dr. Brown has authored more than 200 publications, including the recently published book “Energy and American Society: Thirteen Myths.”
The TVA nomination of Dr. Brown follows the White House’s reappointment earlier this month of Bill Sansom for another term on the TVA board and the appointment in September of Dr. Barbara Haskew and Neil McBride of Oak Ridge. All of the appointments must still be approved by the Senate.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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