Gluesenkamp is working to advance energy-efficient building equipment technologies through facilitating partnerships and industry engagement, securing research funding, lending his expertise in the lab and more.

Kyle Gluesenkamp, Ph.D., is a senior research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he manages a portfolio of thermal energy storage technologies and advanced equipment for buildings, such as heat pumps, water heating and residential appliances. As ORNL’s Subprogram Manager for Thermal Energy Storage, he bridges gaps between science and industry by collaborating with manufacturers and other stakeholders to develop products that can reduce energy consumption and peak demand to enable a decarbonized energy future. 

Gluesenkamp works in ORNL’s Thermal Energy Storage Research Group within the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC), whose aim is to improve the energy efficiency and environmental compatibility of residential and commercial buildings; this mission aligns with the DOE’s long-term goal of reducing U.S. buildings’ energy consumption by 50 percent. With deep expertise in thermal storage, residential appliances, experimental prototype evaluation and other areas, Gluesenkamp is working to advance some of the most energy-efficient building equipment technologies in development today – and he says the primary way for his lab’s work to impact the market is through technology transfer. 

At ORNL, Gluesenkamp facilitates partnerships and industry engagement, secures funding for research projects, serves as principal investigator (PI) for numerous research projects, publishes journal and conference articles and reports, and mentors peers and student researchers. He assists ORNL’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO) by promoting ORNL-developed technologies in conversations and negotiations with potential industry and university partners, at conferences, and in Department of Energy programs, including Energy I-Corps, Innovation Crossroads and the Technology Commercialization Fund. 

Gluesenkamp helps his peers fine-tune invention disclosures, conference presentations, patent applications and industry pitches, encouraging them to consider their innovations from a commercialization perspective. He uses these same skills in collaborating with ORNL’s TTO to recruit industry and university partners, help them understand how to get the most out of the technology transfer process, define the scope of work and then implement the research plan. He contributed directly to three licenses, 20 Non-Disclosure Agreements and one Material Transfer Agreement. 

As a lead PI, Gluesenkamp has secured more than $20 million in funding from competitive solicitations for energy-efficient building equipment research and development (R&D). He has contributed as a team member to R&D projects that have garnered an additional $10 million. He manages and leads projects with major manufacturers, DOE and lab-directed research, often via Cooperative Research and Development Agreements. He also establishes partnerships and subcontracts with universities and industry, including large manufacturers and small businesses. 

In a single decade at ORNL, Gluesenkamp published more than 50 journal articles and over 100 conference articles and technical reports, filed 42 invention disclosures, and received five patents and one R&D 100 award. Through all of these achievements, Gluesenkamp has promoted the value of ORNL-developed innovations to the energy community.