The Energy Innovation Center is guided by leaders from industry, engineering, grid operations, energy law and nuclear regulation. They advise on research direction, connect the center’s work to the problems facing the sector now, and hold us to the standard of relevance a building like this has to meet.
Chuck Beitel
Senior Vice President and Director, Energy and Industrial Group, Sargent & Lundy
Mr. Beitel is a licensed professional engineer with more than 30 years in the power industry, leading project delivery across new generation, environmental retrofits, nuclear services, carbon capture and permitting — the full path from design to commissioning.
Jamie Farmer
President, Circe Energy
Ms. Farmer is a leader in frontier power generation, developing behind-the-meter microgrids to meet rapidly accelerating power demand. She is also president of Jefferson City-based Capital Sand Proppants and a principal at Farmer Companies.
Jim Fitterling
Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dow
Mr. Fitterling became executive chairman of Dow in July 2026 after serving as chief executive officer since 2018, capping a career of more than four decades with the company. He brings the perspective of one of the world’s largest industrial energy consumers — including Dow’s investment in advanced nuclear to power its operations.
Beth Garza
Senior Fellow, R Street Institute
Ms. Garza is a leading authority on electricity market design and reliability. She led the Independent Market Monitor for ERCOT, the Texas grid operator, and has shaped how the largest competitive power market in the country is understood and overseen. At R Street she works on the policy questions determining whether the grid can meet what’s coming.
David Hill
Executive Vice President, Energy, Bipartisan Policy Center
Formerly General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Energy, Mr. Hill now leads energy work at the Bipartisan Policy Center and serves as vice chair of the board of the New York Independent System Operator. He was previously executive vice president and general counsel of NRG Energy, one of the country’s largest power producers.
Becky Klein
Principal, Klein Energy
Ms. Klein advises on utilities, renewables, and water and energy infrastructure, with a focus on national security. She serves on the boards of Diamondback Energy, Avista Corporation and H2O America, and founded the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute. She previously chaired the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Dale Klein
Frank and Kay Reese Endowment Professor Emeritus in Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Klein served as chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, appointed by President George W. Bush, and before that as Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. He later served as associate vice chancellor for research at the University of Texas System. A Missouri native, he earned his doctorate in nuclear engineering at Mizzou. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
David Payne
PayneCrest Electric
David Payne is the outgoing chairman of PayneCrest Electric, an electrical contracting firm he grew from a local business into a nationally recognized contractor serving automotive, data center, and industrial clients nationwide. A 1983 graduate of Mizzou’s College of Engineering, David credits his engineering education with laying the foundation for more than four decades of leadership and solving complex technical and operational challenges. In 2026, he led the successful sale of PayneCrest to Primoris Services Corporation.
Scott Strawn
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Power, Burns & McDonnell
Mr. Strawn leads the power business at Burns & McDonnell, the Kansas City-based engineering and construction firm, where he has spent his entire career — beginning as a staff mechanical engineer designing emissions control systems and rising to run the group over two decades.