Mohamed Abdou, Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA, has been elected the first President of the newly formed Council of Energy Research and Education Leaders (CEREL), based in Washington, DC. The Council was formed by the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). The NCSE says the CEREL is "the first multidisciplinary membership organaization made up of heads of academic energy research and education centers. Abdou is Director of the Center for Energy Science and Technology Advanced Research (CESTAR) at UCLA and is also a member of Fusion Power Associates Board of Directors. Thirty universtiy energy centers have joined CEREL to date.
Upon his appointment, Abdou said, "A key objective of CEREL is to enhance the role and visibility of universities as premier institutions for carrying out cutting-edge fundamental and applied research on all aspects of energy production, transmission, storage, and utilization that can lead to innovative and practical solutions for a sustainable energy future. CEREL also provides an important forum for sharing experience among universities in regards to educating and training the workforce and future leaders of the energy field in the many diverse scientific and social science disciplines involved. CEREL helps enable energy research and education at universities to become larger than the sum of their parts."
