Dr. Steve McKnight is the Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) and Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO). Dr. McKnight leads each office’s strategy, management, and execution to advance materials and manufacturing technologies and dramatically reduce industrial emissions. Dr. McKnight has more than 25 years of leadership and research experience in government, academia, and the nonprofit sector.

He previously served as the Vice President for Strategic Alliances at Virginia Tech where he advanced strategic partnerships and oversaw executive-level engagement with federal agencies, research sponsors, and labs. Before joining Virginia Tech, Steve spent five years at the National Science Foundation (NSF) where he served as the Deputy Assistant Director of Directorate for Engineering and the Division Director for Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation. Steve also spent 13 years at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL).

Steve holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Delaware and a B.S. in Materials Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is also a professor of biomechanical engineering and mechanics at Virginia Tech’s Macromolecular and Interfaces Institute and Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science.

Dr. Avi Shultz is the Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO). Dr. Shultz helps lead IEDO’s strategy to accelerate the innovation and adoption of cost-effective technologies that eliminate industrial greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. Shultz also works with DOE leadership and interagency partners on key issues related to reducing emissions across the U.S. industrial sector.

Previously, Dr. Shultz was the program manager for concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) for the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO). Dr. Shultz has been with DOE since 2013, where he started as a science and technology policy fellow, supporting the CSP program on a wide variety of topics.

Before joining DOE, Dr. Shultz was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Amsterdam, after getting his Bachelor and Doctoral degrees in Chemistry, from Columbia University and Northwestern University, respectively.

Joe Cresko is the Chief Engineer for the Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office, where he leads the Strategic Analysis Team. This team helps to assess the life cycle and cross-sector impacts of new manufacturing advances.

He first joined EERE at its Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) as a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in 2008. As a fellow, he principally supported AMO’s Strategic Analysis Group which helps to develop the Department’s technology and industry strategies. After his fellowship, he decided to stay on with the Analysis team, which he now leads.

Prior to federal employment, Joe was the Director of the Emerging Technology Applications Center which worked with manufacturers to improve their energy efficiency and reduce their environmental footprint through energy efficiency assessments and applied R&D.

Joe graduated with an MS from Penn State University in 1991 and from Bucknell University with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1987.

Dr. Paul Majsztrik recently joined the U.S. Department of Energy as Program Manager for the Energy- and Emissions-Intensive Industries program in the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO).  In this role, he leads a sector-specific industrial decarbonization effort that drives innovation, development, and demonstration of enabling technologies through RD&D partnerships with industry, national labs, and academia. Subsectors include chemicals and refining; cement and concrete; iron and steel; food and beverage, forest products; and other industries like glass and aluminum. 

Prior to joining DOE, Paul spent 15 years leading private sector RD&D aimed at innovating and scaling technologies that enable industrial and energy sector decarbonization.  This includes work in low-carbon cement and concrete (Solidia Technologies), CO₂ to chemicals (Liquid Light), energy storage/conversion technologies, and novel routes for high-purity silicon production.  Paul’s work spanned process, equipment, and materials innovation/scale-up as well as sustainability. 

Paul has BS degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics (Rutgers), an MS in Mechanical Engineering (Vanderbilt), and a PhD in Chemistry and Materials (Princeton) as well as post-doctoral work at Oak Ridge National Lab.  His academic focus was on energy conversion technologies, materials, and processes.

Isaac Chan is the Program Manager for Cross-Sector Technologies in DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO).  Since joining DOE in 2001, Isaac has led a broad portfolio of industry-specific and crosscutting technology development programs addressing the top improvement opportunities in the most energy-intensive industrial sectors including chemicals, iron and steel, paper and forest products, aluminum, glass, metalcasting, and mining.

Prior to joining DOE, Isaac was Managing Director of Gas Research Institute’s Industrial Technology Center where he managed a R&D portfolio of industrial technologies and technical service ventures.  Isaac began his career on the engineering staff at Cleveland-Cliffs’ Indiana Harbor Works (formerly Inland Steel).  He holds BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois.  He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg Management Institute executive program.

Anne Hampson is Program Manager for Technical Assistance and Workforce at the Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office (IEDO).

This program supports the development and validation of technologies and practices to increase the productivity and competitiveness of American manufacturers and other large energy-using facilities.  She previously served as the Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) Technical Partnership programs. The five core programs that Ms. Hampson oversees are the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Deployment Program, Better Plants, ISO 50001, Industrial Assessment Centers, and Technologist in Residence.

Before joining AMO, Ms. Hampson was a resilience fellow at the Federal Energy Management Program where she focused on tool development and stakeholder outreach related to energy and water resilience.  Ms. Hampson also spent over 15 years at ICF focused on distributed generation and CHP, where she led a team focused on CHP technology assessment, market potential, and regulatory/policy considerations.

Ava Coy is the Acting Program Manager in the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office for the Technical Project Officers team. In this role, she is responsible for coordinating the development and execution of solicitations for new research initiatives, negotiating awards with project recipients, and monitoring a portfolio of technically diverse projects. Prior to this, Ava worked as a Management and Program Analyst across several DOE offices where she supported work on peer and merit reviews, crowdsourcing prize challenges, system administration, and database development. When she first came to DOE, she worked as a Technical Project Officer for the Geothermal Technologies Office where she managed a portfolio of over 75 projects across enhanced geothermal systems, hydrothermal resources, co-production, ground source heat pumps, analysis, education, and outreach.

Before joining DOE, Ava worked in the oil and gas industry where she supervised shale and coal bed methane reservoir hydraulic fracturing operations.

Ava has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines with a minor in Bioengineering and Life Sciences.

Lauren Hall is the Operations Supervisor for the Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office (IEDO) and previously of the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO). In this role, she is responsible for all operational activities that include program planning, budgeting for formulation and execution, staff hiring, retention, and recruiting while overseeing multiple data systems.

Before coming to AMO in 2019, Lauren served the Weatherization & Intergovernmental Program (WIP) in the EERE office from 2009-2019. She managed budget formulation planning and execution activities with funding in excess of $12 billion and engaged with over 100 Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Financing Programs for state and local grantees funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to close them out. Prior to that, she served as a Technical Project Officer for the State Energy Program and managed a $5M competitive FOA process. Lauren joined the U.S. Department of Energy in 2006 as an Assistant to the former EERE Assistant Secretary, Alexander Karsner, and the former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary John Mizroch.

Lauren has a BA and an MBA in International Business from American University. She has one grown son and a large extended family.

Mattie Gainer is the Strategic Communications lead for the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO). She is also the acting Strategic Communications Lead for the Advanced Materials and strategy. Her work includes written and visual storytelling to help translate technical information to a wide range of audiences on subjects spanning IEDO’s portfolio.

Before joining IEDO, Mattie spent the last decade leading strategic engagement efforts for government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporations. Most recently, Mattie worked as Senior Programs and Communications Manager at the National Archives Foundation.

Mattie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Elon University in Strategic Communications and Political Science in 2015.