DOE Acting Assistant Secretary Curt Coccodrilli Visits Lehigh’s Leading Energy Facilities

Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO), Curt Coccodrilli, visited Lehigh University as a part of the DOE Powering America Roadshow.

The Roadshow is an outreach initiative meant to facilitate collaboration with premier facilities and regional stakeholders across the country to modernize infrastructure and meet America’s expanding energy demands. Lehigh is the first university in Pennsylvania featured in the tour.

“As a national Carnegie R1 research university, Lehigh’s strength lies in turning fundamental science in the classroom and laboratory into impactful, field-ready energy solutions that serve our communities and our economy,” said President Joseph J. Helble '82 during the event’s public remarks. “ We are advancing the innovation needed to strengthen American energy abundance, reliability, security and competitiveness.”

Coccodrilli, a Pennsylvania native, recognized the importance of visiting the eastern side of the state, and Lehigh in particular.

“One of the most critical parts to our infrastructure and history comes right out of this area: Bethlehem Steel.” Coccodrilli said. “I saw today the spirit, the enthusiasm. These folks are the ones who are going to change the world and I was honored to be a part of that.”

The visit highlighted multiple faculty and student researchers who presented their work across P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science (RCEAS) and the interdisciplinary intersection of energy.

Demonstrations from the Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC,) Energy Research Center (ERC), Center for Advancing Electrification Solutions (ACES), and Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS), showcased Lehigh’s mission to meet today’s energy needs and enable the energy transition of tomorrow.

Lehigh continues to work in partnership with the DOE through a breadth of current and past initiatives. ITAC has been providing free energy assessments to small and medium sized manufacturing companies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York for over 20 years through DOE funding.

Most recently, two projects led by RCEAS faculty members Hongyi Li, Ethan Yang, Eugenio Schuster and Tariq Rafiq, received funding in the first round of the DOE’s Genesis Mission grants designed to accelerate breakthroughs in energy, scientific discovery and national security through supporting work that combines AI, supercomputing, quantum systems and advanced scientific instruments. Their projects will improve flood-and water-level prediction and enable progress toward safe nuclear fusion energy.

“Discovery alone isn't enough. We focus heavily on research translation, building a supportive ecosystem across our colleges,” said Nathan Urban, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs, to close out the public gathering. “These efforts are essential for moving promising technologies out of the lab and into society.”