New Executive Director of Pitt′s Center for Energy to Steer Private and Public Support, Need for Solutions to Pitt Researchers

Don Shields, director of corporate relations for Pitt′s Swanson School of Engineering, will now also serve as executive director of the University′s Center for Energy. Shields will take a leading role in developing strategy, acquiring funding, and expanding the focus and influence of the University′s nationally recognized energy research center. The new position builds on Shields′ extensive efforts at the Swanson School to secure government and industry support for new research and educational programs in the energy area.
Pitt′s Center for Energy is dedicated to improving energy-technology development and sustainability, including energy efficiency, advanced materials for demanding energy technologies, carbon management, and energy diversification. Shields will work to connect the center′s faculty members and their research to the private and public organizations with a need for their work, supplying Pitt researchers with important problems they can solve and the means to solve them.
Shields-who also serves as codirector of Pitt′s Swanson Institute for Technical Excellence-has nearly 25 years of experience in technology management and higher education resource development. Shields earned his bachelor′s degree in geosciences and biogeology from Penn State University, his master′s degree in geology from the University of Nebraska, and a Master of Public Management degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
For more information, contact Pitt News Representative Morgan Kelly at 412-624-4356 (office), 412-897-1400 (cell), mekelly@pitt.edu