Ellen Morris

Focus Areas: Energy and International Development

Dr. Ellen Morris is the Director of the University Partnerships Program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  This is a new program to build and strengthen partnerships with leading universities and research institutions that leverage NREL’s scientific knowledge and state-of-the-art facilities to solve complex, multidisciplinary challenges in energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, renewable energy, and grid integration. 

Morris is a world-recognized expert on energy and international development, with a particular focus on policy analysis, research, and strategy development on energy access, gender equality, and business models for the base of the pyramid.  Prior to joining NREL, Morris served as President of Sustainable Energy Solutions, an international professional services company that she founded to promote the increased use and deployment of clean energy technologies as a means to support economic development and reduce poverty in developing countries. She was also a founder of Embark Energy, a social enterprise that trained and mentored energy entrepreneurs in Tanzania and Arc Finance, a non-profit that expands access to financing for energy, water and other basic needs to build the income and assets of poor people around the world. 

Morris developed the energy and development courses at SIPA, and has been teaching there since 2007.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and has her doctorate in Geological Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography.

Education

• Ph.D. in Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography