Nigel Clark is the George B. Berry Chair of Engineering and professor at the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Sciences at West Virginia University and provost of West Virginia University Institute of Technology. A respected scholar in the fields of energy, alternative fuels, engines and emissions research, Clark has more than 500 technical papers in his publication catalog.
From 2004-2009, Clark served as director of WVU's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines & Emissions, a global leader in the research and development of technologies to improve efficiency in transportation and power systems, while working toward a cleaner environment. The CAFEE staff works extensively on emission reduction research - particularly engine technologies, post-combustion technologies, after-treatment evaluation, and fuel technologies.
CAFEE's research appeals to both equipment manufacturers, who must certify their vehicles to meet government emissions performance standards, and government agencies, which are charged with enforcing such regulations. The Center has received research funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, major engine manufacturers, the California Air Resources Board and several state and municipal transit agencies. CAFEE's laboratories conduct high-level research for a variety of companies and organizations, among them fuel suppliers (BP, Chevron), engine manufacturers (Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel) and vehicle manufacturers (Ford, General Motors).
Clark and his WVU colleague, Parvis Famouri, were recently awarded a $2 million grant from the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy that will support development of an engine with an electric generator that can produce electricity for the home of the future. The project is part of ARPA-E's Generators for Small Electrical and Thermal Systems program, or GENSETS, which is aimed at developing generator technologies that will provide residential energy savings, increased reliability for residential power supply and large reductions in carbon dioxide emissions when compared to the current infrastructure.
Clark earned his doctorate in engineering and his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Natal in 1985 and 1979, respectively. A Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Clark has been awarded the Statler College's outstanding researcher award 17 times and was named researcher of the year four times.