Gerrill Griffith, of the West Virginia University Research Corporation, and Roy Nutter, of WVU’s College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, have been named to a National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium committee that will provide training, outreach and education about advanced electric drive vehicles to U.S. citizens.

The Advanced Electric Drive Vehicle Education Program, funded by a U.S. Department of Energy award under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is a public-private partnership with the mission of “Educating America on Next Generation Vehicles,” specifically battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. Examples of items the program will feature include curricula, training, outreach and education activities, Web-driven simulators, a Web site and support of National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day Odyssey.

NAFTC, headquartered at WVU, recently hosted the first meeting of the committee, which includes 10 members and Al Ebron, NAFTC’s executive director who is an ex-officio member and the principal investigator for the project. Other Advisory Committee members are:
Lanny Adkins of West Virginia State Fire Training Academy; Gary Caille of Colorado State University Ventures; Gene Coulson of the West Virginia Department of Education; Tom Gross, formerly with the U.S. Department of Energy and now an independent consultant; Andy O’Neal of the University of Northwestern Ohio; Chris Peterson of Toyota; Francis Vogel of Wisconsin Clean Cities; and Paul Williamson of Sustainable Systems of Colorado.

“It was an honor to meet with the Advisory Committee members as a group, to gather their input regarding our project,” Ebron, said. “I am pleased to work with them and to put their ideas into action over the course of the three-year program.”

During the recent meeting, Ebron discussed with the committee the current status of the project including items that have been completed, elements that are in process and items that will be completed in the future.

“We, at the NAFTC, will benefit from the committee members’ ideas, especially regarding curriculum,” Ebron added. “These individuals have experience in education, fire service, automotive and infrastructure industries; project management; marketing; and with federal and state governments. Their expertise will help us make the program more relevant, user-friendly and technically accurate.”

The Advanced Electric Drive Vehicle Education Program is managed by the NAFTC. The program will generate and disseminate a variety of outreach and education efforts including training and curricula for first responders, automotive technicians, educators, electrical infrastructure engineers, consumers and other related groups.

-WVU-

2/7/11

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CONTACT: Judy Moore, National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium
304-293-7882 (office), 304-669-4870 (cell)
Judy.Moore@mail.wvu.edu