The Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)'s hosted its seventh annual Energy Innovation Summit at National Harbor, MD, February 29 through March 2, 2016. ARPA-E, an agency under the U.S. Department of Energy, promotes high-potential, high-impact energy technologies. Projects are awarded ARPA-E funding because they are developing entirely new ways to generate, store, and use energy.
Nearly 3000 people attended the event, which featured upwards of 250 innovative energy technologies. Although all active ARPA-E awardee project teams are invited to participate in the summit, other organizations may apply to exhibit in the showcase if they have specific transformational energy technology to demonstrate.
Having 250 projects/technologies showcased proves how much potential there is for creativity and innovation in the goal of improving energy efficiency. Many of these topics apply to the editorial focus of Science and Technology for the Built Environment (STBE). The inspiration that results from such an exciting event can lead to stimulating new research that we can feature within STBE's pages.
Furthermore, if readers are looking for new project ideas, one area to consider is to review ARPA-E projects as a starting point. Visit http://arpa-e.energy.gov to learn more.
Reinhard Radermacher, PhD
ASHRAE Fellow
Editor-in-Chief, Science and Technology for the Built
Environment
Minta Martin Professor of Engineering
Director, Center for Environmental Energy Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, USA
Mary E. Collins Baugher
Managing Editor, Science and Technology for the Built
Environment
Assistant to the Director, Center for Environmental Energy
Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, USA