Ashok Gadgil

Biography

Dr. Ashok Gadgil has a doctorate in physics from UC Berkeley, and is a Faculty Senior Scientist, and Acting Director in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and a Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. He has substantial experience in technical, economic, and policy research on energy efficiency and its implementation — particularly in developing countries. For example, the utility-sponsored compact fluorescent lamp leasing programs that he has pioneered are being successfully implemented by utilities in several east-European and developing countries. He has several patents and inventions to his credit, among them the “UV Waterworks,” a technology to inexpensively disinfect drinking water in the developing countries, for which he received the Discover Award in 1996 for the most significant environmental invention of the year, as well as the Popular Science award for “Best of What is New – 1996”. In recent years, he has worked on ways to inexpensively remove arsenic from Bangladesh drinking water.

Dr. Gadgil has received several other awards and honors for his work, including the Pew Fellowship in Conservation and the Environment in 1991 for his work on accelerating energy efficiency in developing countries, the World Technology Award for Energy in 2002, and the Tech Laureate Award in 2004. He serves on several international and national advisory committees dealing with energy efficiency, invention and innovation, and issues of development and the environment. He is also a member of the STAP roster of experts of the Global Environmental Facility. In the 2004-5 academic year, Dr. Gadgil was the MAP/Ming Visiting Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University.

At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Gadgil is part of a group of researchers conducting experimental and modeling research in indoor Airflow & Pollutant Transport. He has authored or co-authored more than 85 papers in refereed archival journals and more than 100 conference papers.

Education

Ph.D., Physics, 1979, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
Master of Science, Physics, 1973, Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, India
Bachelor of Science, Physics, 1971, University of Bombay, India

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Selected Publications

Airflow & Pollutant Transport in Buildings

Sreedharan, P., Sohn, M. D., Gadgil, A. J., and Nazaroff, W. W., Systems approach to evaluating sensor characteristics for real-time monitoring of high-risk indoor contaminant releases, Atmospheric Environment, 40, 3490–3502 (June 2006).

Jayaraman, B, E. U. Finlayson, M. D. Sohn, T. L. Thatcher, P. N. Price, E. E. Wood, R. G. Sextro, and A. J. Gadgil, Tracer Gas Transport Under Mixed Convection Conditions In An Experimental Atrium: Comparison Between Experiments And CFD Predictions, Atmospheric Environment, in press (June 2006).

Finlayson, E. U., A. J. Gadgil, T. L. Thatcher, and R. G. Sextro, Pollutant dispersion in a large indoor space. Part 2: Computational fluid dynamics predictions and comparison with a scale model experiment for isothermal flow. Indoor Air, 2004. 14: p. 272-283.

Sohn, M. D., R. G. Sextro, A. J. Gadgil, and J. M. Daisey, Responding to Sudden Pollutant Releases in Office Buildings: 1. Framework and Analysis Tools. Indoor Air, 2003. 13(3): p. 267-276.

Litvak*, A., A. J. Gadgil, and W. J. Fisk, Hygroscopic Fine Mode Particle Deposition on Electronic Circuits and Resulting Degradation of Circuit Performance: An Experimental Study. Indoor Air, 2000. 10(1): p. 47-56.

Drescher*, A. C., A. J. Gadgil, P. N. Price, and W. W. Nazaroff, Novel Approach for Tomographic Reconstruction of Gas Concentration Distributions in Air: Use of Smooth Basis Functions and Simulated Annealing. Atmospheric Environment, 1996. 30(6): p. 929-940.

Nazaroff, W. W., A. J. Gadgil, and C. J. Weschler, Critique of the Use of Deposition Velocity in Modeling Indoor Air Quality. Modeling of Indoor Air Quality and Exposure, ASTM Special Technical Publication (STP) 1205, 1993: p. 81-104.

Energy and Environment

Fulkerson, W., M. D. Levine, J. Sinton and A. J. Gadgil, Sustainable, efficient electricity service for one billion people, Energy for Sustainable Development, 2005, IX (2), 26-34.

Craig, P. P., A. J. Gadgil, and J. G. Koomey, What can History Teach Us? A Retrospective Examination of Long-term Energy Forecasts for the U.S. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 2002. 27: p. 83-118.

Gadgil, A. J., G. M. Jannuzzi, E. Silva, and M.-L. Leonardi, A Cost-Neutral Energy Strategy Incorporating Renewables and Energy Efficiency for the City of Manaus in Brazilian Amazonia. Energy Policy, 1999. 27(6): p. 357-367.

Gadgil, A. J., Drinking Water in the Developing Countries. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 1998. 23: p. 253-286.

Gadgil, A. J. and M. A. Sastry, Stalled on the Road to the Market: Lessons from a Project Promoting Lighting Efficiency in India. Energy Policy, 1994. 22(2): p. 151-162.

Sathaye, J and A. J. Gadgil. Aggressive cost-effective electricity conservation: Novel approaches. Energy Policy, 1992. 20(2): 163-172.

Gadgil, A. J. and G. M. Jannuzzi, Conservation Potential of Compact Fluorescent Lamps in India and Brazil. Energy Policy, 1990. 19(5): p. 449-463.

Koomey, J., A. H. Rosenfeld, and A. J. Gadgil, Conservation Screening Curves to Compare Efficiency Investments to Power Plants. Energy Policy, 1990. 18(8): p. 774-782.

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Associations

American Physical Society, Fellow