Grace Marie Bochenek (born June 15, 1961) is an American industrial engineer and the current director of the School of Modeling, Simulation and Training, and the

Institute for Simulation and Training The Institute for Simulation and Training (IST) is a research institute of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, United States. Grace Bochenek, Ph.D. was appointed director of IST in early 2021. She was previously the ...

at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. She is former Director of the

National Energy Technology Laboratory The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is a U.S national laboratory under the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy. NETL focuses on applied research for the clean production and use of domestic energy resources. NETL performs ...

within the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

's Office of Fossil Energy. She also served as the acting

United States Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the United States presidential line of succession, presidential line of succession. The po ...

in early 2017. She previously had spent much of her career at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.

Education

Bochenek earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in 1986, and a Master of Science in industrial and systems engineering from the

University of Michigan–Dearborn The University of Michigan–Dearborn (U of M Dearborn, UM–Dearborn, or UMD) is a public university in Dearborn, Michigan. It is one of the two regional universities operating under the policies of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, ...

in 1992. She did her doctoral work at the

earning her Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering in 1998. Her dissertation title was "Comparative Analysis of Virtual 3D Visual Display Systems: Contributions to Cross-functional Team Collaboration in a Product Design Review Environment".

Career

After graduating, Bochenek worked in the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

for 25 years. In 2006, she became Director of

U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command The Combat Capabilities Development Command, (DEVCOM, aka CCDC) (formerly the United States Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM)) is a subordinate command of the United States Army Futures Command, U.S. Army Futures Comman ...

Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center The United States Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) (formerly United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC)), located in Warren, Michigan, is the United States Armed Forces' research and ...

after having spent most of her career there. Subsequent to this, she was named the first Chief Technology Officer of the

U.S. Army Materiel Command U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) is the primary provider of materiel to the United States Army. The Command's mission includes the management of installations, as well as maintenance and parts distribution. It was established on 8 May 1962 and wa ...

. In 2014 Bochenek became Director of the

(NETL), the research and development arm of the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...

Office of Fossil Energy. NETL is a national laboratory focusing on efficient and sustainable use of fossil fuels, including

carbon capture Carbon capture may refer to: * Carbon capture and utilization, where the captured carbon dioxide is used * Carbon sequestration, where the captured carbon dioxide is stored ** Carbon capture and storage, referring to carbon sequestration from point ...

. She cited the security aspects of energy when discussing her move from Defense to Energy, and encouraged students to specialize in engineering and sciences. She advocated for greater collaboration between the laboratory and outside companies, saying that energy is more subject to market forces than defense. She was named the acting

on January 20, 2017, following the resignation of

Ernest Moniz Ernest Jeffrey Moniz, GCIH (; born December 22, 1944) is an American nuclear physicist and former government official. From May 2013 to January 2017, he served as the 13th United States secretary of Energy in the Obama Administration. Prior to t ...

at the conclusion of the Obama Administration. She served until the confirmation of Texas Governor

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...

on March 2, 2017. Bochenek retired from NETL effective February 28, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bochenek, Grace Living people Wayne State University alumni University of Michigan–Dearborn alumni University of Central Florida alumni United States Department of Energy National Laboratories personnel United States Secretaries of Energy Trump administration cabinet members 1961 births