“The cleanest power plant is the one you don’t have to build.”
-John Bowers, IEE Director

 
“IEE’s award-winning research has been the foundation for numerous energy-saving innovations including energy-saving white light LED lighting, more energy efficient data-center communications and interconnects, and software that reduces energy usage in buildings worldwide.”
-Mark Abel, IEE Associate Director

 
Research at the Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) is organized into three interdisciplinary themes; Smart Societal Infrastructure, Energy Efficient Computing and Communications, and the Food-Energy-Water Nexus. Projects within each theme attack critical energy-efficiency grand challenges by leveraging the expertise of UCSB’s acclaimed faculty, engineers and researchers to develop new technologies to improve energy efficiency and ensure a more sustainable future.  IEE’s mission also includes expediting the commercialization of these technologies.

IEE research is funded through government grants, industry-sponsored projects, and generous donors. The Institute selectively supports emerging new directions in research by providing seed-funding or matching-grant funding to UCSB faculty. Additionally, the Institute facilitates and supports efforts to secure government and industry funding.