A guest blog by the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network shares an update on Aaron Cooke, an NREL researcher on a U.S. Embassy Science Fellowship funded by the Arctic Energy Office.
June 14, 2023![Aaron Cooke is a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Lab in the United States currently visiting Akureyri on US Embassy Science Fellowship through the Arctic Energy Office.](/sites/default/files/styles/full_article_width/public/2023-06/ICAN%20Aaron%20Cooke.jpeg?itok=gjKTRG87)
Editor's Note: This blog was originally published by the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network (IACN) and is republished here with their permission.
Aaron Cooke is a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Lab in the United States currently visiting Akureyri on U.S. Embassy Science Fellowship through the US Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office.
The primary scope of work for the Fellowship is to work with the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network and the University of Akureyri in northern Iceland to co-develop a roadmap for bilateral Arctic scientific cooperation with a focus on energy-related developments. This will include stakeholder engagement with organizations and individuals key to energy program roadmapping in Iceland. The ultimate goal for energy roadmapping would be to diversify energy resources, strengthen bilateral cooperation between nations, and empower underrepresented populations.
During his stay in Iceland Aaron will be visiting various organizations and institutions related to his field of expertise to learn more about the state of energy and infrastructure in the region, and discuss the potential to work together on future bi-lateral research together.
IACN and the University of Akureyri have created a list of stakeholders whose missions or areas of expertise overlap with the labs, and would be good potential partners on future shared research and exchanges of expertise.
NREL is one of seventeen national labs under the U.S. Department of Energy; it is the only national lab entirely dedicated to renewable energy and it is the only lab that has a campus in the Arctic. The research center is in Fairbanks, Alaska, on the University of Alaska campus. Aaron's area of specialization is in Arctic buildings, energy, and infrastructure. Aaron was born and raised in Alaska, and has worked and done research in Alaska, Greenland, Russia, Canada, and Denmark. This is his first time working in Iceland.
United States Embassies and host countries request Fellows to assist on science, technology, environment, health, or innovation issues. Since its inception in 2001, the U.S. Embassy Science Fellows Program has placed almost 550 fellows in 70 different partner nations. The goal of the Fellowship is to assist in strengthening international cooperation with host governments, universities, and other organizations. Aaron is the 8th Embassy Science Fellow to be requested and placed in Iceland, and the 2nd to be placed in Akureyri.