Roderick Jackson
Roderick Kinte Jackson | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Oak Ridge National Laboratory National Renewable Energy Laboratory |
| Thesis | Development of single wall carbon nanotube transparent conductive electrodes for organic electronics (2009) |
Roderick Jackson is an American engineer and inventor who based at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Whilst working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Jackson oversaw the demonstration of a fully 3D-printed house with solar panels that could wirelessly power a 3D-printed car.
Early life and education
Jackson was born to an engineer and a civil rights advocate.[1] His father, Louis Jackson, built houses. Jackson recalls spending his childhood as a member of his father's construction business. His mother, Gwen Jackson, was involved with the Civil rights movement, and attended the March Against Fear where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech in Canton, Mississippi. He grew up in Mississippi.[1] He was awarded a Graduate Education for Minority Students (GEM) Fellowship, which inspired him to become an engineer.[2] Jackson completed his studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology. After earning his undergraduate degree, he returned to Mississippi to help his father set up a construction company.[3] He completed his graduate studies while running the business.[4] He eventually returend to pursue his doctoral research, where he explored carbon nanotubes for organic electronics.[5]
Career
In 2009 Jackson joined the Buildings Technology Research and Integration Center at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). At ORNL Jackson was responsible for buildings and systems. Here he established Alabama's Smart Neighbourhood, the first project in the Southern United States that connected homes to a microgrid.[6]
He contributed to an Additive Manufacturing Project, AMIE[7], which demonstrated a 3D printed house that, using solar panel, could power a 3D printed vehicle.[8] The house and car were printed with one of the largest 3D printers in the world, ORNL's Big Area Additive Manufacturing Machine.[4] He created vacuum insulation panels that provided the same thermal insulation as commercially available materials but at half the cost.[9]
In 2017 Jackson joined National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he is Program Manager for the Building Portfolio.[10] At NREL he was mentored by Johney Green, another GEM alumni, who serves as Laboratory Director for Mechanical and Thermal Engineering Sciences. He was appointed to the Advisory Board of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in 2021.[11]
His mother's advocacy instilled in him a strong sense of social justice. Jackson has acted as a mentor for young engineers and scientists, both through school robotics programmes and the GEM Fellowship scheme.[1]
Awards and honours
- 2014 Knoxville Business Journal’s 40 under 40[8]
- 2016 National GEM Consortium Alumni Member of the Year[12]
- 2017 Young, Gifted & Empowered Awards Innovator of the Year[4][13]
- 2022 Black Engineer of the Year Award Professional Achievement in Government Award[14]
References
- ^ a b c "Leader in Buildings Research Receives Prestigious Black Engineer of the Year STEM Award". www.nrel.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "A Hidden GEM of NREL". www.nrel.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "ME Alumnus Recognized for Innovation in Energy Efficiency | Nuclear & Radiological Engineering & Medical Physics". www.nre.gatech.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ a b c "ORNL Researcher Recognized for Innovation in Energy Efficiency". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "Stability of doped transparent carbon nanotube electrodes". scholar.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "Leader in Buildings Research Receives Prestigious Black Engineer of the Year STEM Award". www.nrel.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ Roderick Jackson explains the AMIE Demonstration Project, retrieved 2023-01-14
- ^ a b Roark, Cortney. "40 Under 40 celebrates milestone". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "Insulation Project Moves Toward Higher R-value". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "Leader in Buildings Research Receives Prestigious Black Engineer of the Year STEM Award". www.nrel.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "Research Advisory Board | ACEEE". www.aceee.org. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "GEM 2016 Annual Report by The National GEM Consortium - Issuu". issuu.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "Patty Peck Honda Presents the 2017 Young, Gifted & Empowered Award | Savvy Life Magazine!". Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ "How this 2022 BEYA winner transitioned from mentee to champion". www.blackengineer.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.