NAWEA/WindTech Conference Committee
Meet the Conference Committee
The North American Wind Energy Academy (NAWEA) Conference Committee oversees the NAWEA/WindTech annual conference. The committee is composed of former conference organizers and long-time supporters who have been heavily involved with the conference in previous years. The committee selects the conference hosts through a competitive process and appoints and guides the scientific committee. Most importantly, the Conference Committee ensures that future conferences uphold the mission of the NAWEA organization.
NAWEA/WindTech Conference Committee
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Luis 'Tony' Martinez-Tossas (NLR) - Conference Committee Chair
Tony is a research engineer at the NLR and is the Chair of the NAWEA Conference Committee. Tony has been involved with the NAWEA/WindTech Conference since 2019 and led the scientific committee for the 2019 and 2022 conferences.
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Tom Acker (Salt River Project)
Tom is the senior principal research engineer at Salt River Project, emeritus professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Northern Arizona University, and treasurer of NAWEA.
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Cristina Archer (University of Delaware)
Cristina is a professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of Delaware and director of the Center for Research in Wind (CReW) at the University of Delaware. Cristina was the chair of the 2022 NAWEA/WindTech Conference.
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Sue Ellen Haupt (NCAR)
Sue is a senior scientist in the Research Applications Laboratory (RAL) of NCAR and commissioner of the AMS Commission on the Weather, Water, Climate Enterprise. Sue was the chair of the WindTech 2017 Conference and a member of the organizing committee for the 2023 NAWEA/WindTech Conference.
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Jim Manwell (UMass Amherst)
Jim is an emeritus professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department and founding director of the Wind Energy Center at UMass Amherst. Jim was the chair of the NAWEA/WindTech 2019 Conference and has been involved with the NAWEA organization since its inception.
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Jonathan W. Naughton (University of Wyoming)
Jonathan is a professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Wind Energy Research Center (WERC) at the University of Wyoming. Jonathan was the chair of the 2015 WindTech Conference and a member of the organizing committee of the NAWEA/WindTech 2023 Conference.
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Kelsey Shaler (Shell)
Kelsey is an offshore wind energy researcher at Shell. Kelsey was a co-lead of the Scientific Committee and a member of the organizing committee of the 2022 and 2023 NAWEA/WindTech Conferences.
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Anupam Sharma (Iowa State University)
Anupam is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering, and Director of the Computational Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics Lab at Iowa State University. Anupam was the Conference Chair of the 2017 NAWEA Conference.
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Paul Veers (NAWEA)
Paul Veers is NAWEA President and Executive Director. He is also a NLR Senior Research Fellow Emeritus and was the chair of the 2023 NAWEA/WindTech Conference.
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Michelle Williams (Sandia National Laboratories)
Michelle is a materials researcher at Sandia National Laboratories and was a co-lead of the Scientific Committee for the 2023 NAWEA/WindTech Conference.
NAWEA/WindTech Conference
NAWEA/WindTech 2026 | Portland, OR
NAWEA/WindTech 2026 will take place September 21–23, 2026 at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. This in-person gathering convenes researchers, educators, and industry leaders committed to advancing wind energy technologies and applications.
Attendees can participate in in-depth technical presentations, hands-on software workshops, and extensive networking opportunities. The event also features the Graduate Student Symposium on September 20, 2026. From emerging research to real-world innovations, the conference offers a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange across the wind energy community.
NAWEA/WindTech Conference Archive
The NAWEA/WindTech conference archive provides a historical overview of past conferences organized by the North American Wind Energy Academy (NAWEA), showcasing key events, locations, and topics addressed over the years. These archived records include details from multiple years. Past conferences have featured a wide range of themes spanning grid integration, offshore wind, atmospheric science, modeling and simulation, and social and environmental aspects of wind energy. Programs, abstracts, and agendas for these events are available to reflect the breadth of discussions and research presented at each meeting.