Dr. Benjamin A. Saarloos serves as an assistant professor of engineering at Dordt University.
His research interests center around renewable energy and the economic impacts of integrating renewable energy sources. His Ph.D. dissertation, titled “Renewable Energy in Community: Economic Impacts of the Grid,” explores the economic and logistical aspects of renewable energy within community frameworks. This includes the following open access published papers:
- Achieving Optimal Value of Solar: A Municipal Utility Rate Analysis
- Net-Zero Energy Districts and the Grid: An Energy-Economic Feasibility Case-Study of the National Western Center in Denver, CO, USA
Before joining Dordt, Dr. Saarloos spent 12 years working in the development of personal cooling, miniature refrigeration, evaporative spray cooling, thermal energy storage, and thermal management technologies. His extensive industry background informs his teaching and research, particularly in energy systems and sustainability.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Saarloos contributes to the Dordt community as a Lab Systems Engineer.
Education:
- Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, Colorado State University.
- M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
- B.S. in Engineering, Dordt University.