COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Dr. Malcolm Verdict, associate director of the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) with the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, has been named the Energy Manager of the Year by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). The award is granted annually to an energy engineer who has exhibited outstanding leadership and skills in energy management; outstanding accomplishments in promoting the practices and principles of energy management and development; and superior service to the Association of Energy Engineers. Verdict was recently recognized in Austin with this prestigious award. "It is especially humbling and gratifying to be recognized by one’s peers in a field that I have devoted my professional career to for the past 27 years," Verdict said. "The efficient use of energy has never been more important than it is today to our nation’s energy security, our local environment, our everyday cost of living and to our own campus here at Texas A&M University." Verdict joined the ESL team in 2002 and works closely with federal, state and local governments on energy efficiency and environmental policy issues, representing the ESL and its team of technical experts in promoting energy efficiency practices and techniques before such groups as the Western Governors Association, which appointed him to its Clean and Diversified Energy Task Force earlier this year. Verdict received the State Energy Managers Award in Texas from the Industrial Energy Technology Conference in 1989. He was deputy director of the Texas State Energy Office in 1991 where he created the $98 million LoanSTAR energy retrofit loan program, helped craft the first energy demand side management program for regulated utilities in Texas and implemented the state’s first energy-efficient building standards for state buildings. From 1992 to 2001 Verdict was a senior program manager for a prestigious advocacy group, the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington, D.C. While at the alliance, he served as co-founder and chair of the National Home Energy Rating Council in Washington, D.C., which was composed of states, builders, energy raters, federal agencies and mortgage lenders. In 2001, he served as a representative of the energy efficiency and renewable energy communities on President George W. Bush’s "transition team" for the U.S. Department of Energy. Verdict holds a Bachelor of Science in math and engineering sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a master’s degree in business administration from Louisiana Tech University, and a commercial banking certificate from Southern Methodist University Graduate School of Banking. He is also a certified energy manager, holder of a commercial pilot license and served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam. The Association of Energy Engineers is an international organization celebrating its 29th year of successful energy leadership. President George W. Bush praised the efforts of the organization at the 28th World Energy Engineering Congress. "I appreciate the AEE members and [the] commitment to promoting energy efficiency in this country as we move into the 21st century. Your efforts help to protect our environment and improve the quality of life for everyone," Bush said.
