AI for Climate: Scaling Solutions, Reducing Impact

Dr. Colin McCormick directs Relae's work in power and electricity, data center infrastructure, grid reliability, and space technologies. Trained as an optical physicist and data scientist, he conducted research in applied quantum optics and atomic physics at UC Berkeley and NIST. He previously served as the Senior Advisor for R&D at the US Department of Energy, overseeing the applied energy research portfolio in energy efficiency, renewables, energy storage, grid technologies, electric vehicles and related areas. Earlier, he was a Professional Staff Member for the House Science & Technology Committee, focusing on technology and innovation policy, data interoperability, and technical standards development. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Science, Technology and International Affairs program at Georgetown University where he teaches classes on deep decarbonization and AI & autonomous systems. He is also a Commissioner on the District of Columbia Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency. He has worked extensively with the Climate TRACE consortium, and is a member of the Carbon Mapper Science & Measurement Committee. He was previously a member of the WattTime Board of Directors.

Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the US on carbon removal (CO₂ drawdown from the air and oceans), CO₂ conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, green manufacturing, and carbon capture and sequestration.He served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy during the Obama Administration, where he was responsible for DOE's R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO₂ utilization, and advanced power generation. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist.