NORMAN, OKLA. – University of Oklahoma Vice President for Research and Partnerships Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, Ph.D., has been appointed to serve on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Science Advisory Committee through May 2027.
As a committee member, Díaz de la Rubia will help provide advice and recommendations to the DOE on scientific, technical and programmatic issues relating to the national fusion energy sciences program, with specific emphasis in energy security and computer simulations of physical properties and performance of materials.
“I’m honored to be selected by the Department of Energy to serve on this important Federal Advisory Committee,” he said. “I look forward to working with the outstanding members of the FESAC to assist the Department in developing the strategies and policies that will accelerate the deployment of commercial fusion energy in the United States and around the world. The planet needs new clean, baseload, and safe energy technologies such as fusion to fuel its sustainable growth.”
Diáz de la Rubia currently leads OU’s efforts to enhance the scale and scope of the university’s research enterprise, and to develop a new strategic framework for research particularly in the areas of national security, energy and sustainability, and the life sciences. Prior to OU, he was the Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Purdue University, was the innovation leader and a director in the energy and resources industry practice at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, and was the Deputy Director for Science and Technology at the U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
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A team from OU and WVU recently earned a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how concept cigarillos influence the potential for addiction. The results will be used to inform the FDA’s impending flavor ban on cigar products and could have wider-reaching implications for other tobacco products that come in flavors, such as e-cigarettes and tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
