Page 95 - ISES SWC50

Ken Guthrie

Country: Australia
Year Started Research: 1978
Title of Research: The performance of a slatted convection suppression
device
University: University of Melbourne
Still Active in Research: Yes

Ken Guthrie trained as a mechanical engineer 1972-75 and completed a Master of Engineering Science by research
under the supervision of Bill Charters at the University of Melbourne. From 1980-82 he worked at Monash University
and in 1983 he worked on the use of phase change materials in passive solar buildings in the UK. He managed the
solar thermal program at the Victorian Solar Energy Council from 1984-90. In 1990 he set up the Energy systems
group at the GFCV’s Scientific Services Dept to facilitate more efficient use of heating in Victoria. In 1995 he joined
the Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria, leading the government energy efficiency program and later included
renewable energy in his portfolio. After SEAV transitioned to Sustainability Victoria he provided advice across
the Victorian Government regarding market and regulatory programs to support the deployment of Sustainable
Energy Technologies as General Manager, Sustainable Environs. In 2012 Ken set up a specialist consulting service,
Sustainable Energy Transformation undertaking work for organisations across AU and NZ including CSIRO and
EECA and providing advice on solar farms for local government in Victoria. He is currently a Board Member of the
APVI and Yarra Energy Foundation. Ken has been particularly active in Standards and International Energy Agency
research collaboration: Member of Standards Australia’s committee on solar water heating, CS028, from 1985. In
1989 he became Chair, a position that he still holds. Member of ISO tC180 since 1986 and Chair 1997 to 2017. In
2014 Standards Australia awarded Ken the Meritorious Contribution Award for his International Standards work.
Since 2004 Ken has represented Australia at the IEA SHC program. In 2014 he was elected Chair of the Executive
committee, serving two terms until 2018. He has been the Co-Chair of the IEA SHC/ISES SWC conference in Abu
Dhabi in 2017 and a program Co-Chair in 2019.

Stephen Harrison
Country: Canada
Year Started Research/Industry: 1970’s
Area of Research: Studies of Solar Collector Performance at NRC
University: National Research Center, Canada Queen’s University,
Canada QSBRI Canada
Still Active in Research/Industry : Yes

Dr. Harrison has 4 decades of experience in the development and evaluation of solar energy equipment. Author of
numerous technical papers and patents, he is a founding partner and Director of Engineering at QSBR Innovations
Inc. and director of the Solar Calorimetry Laboratory at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. He recently retired
from teaching undergraduate classes and is now professor Emeritus. Despite retiring Dr. Harrison still runs the
Queen’s Solar Lab which supports the efforts of graduate students and post-doctoral researchers and undertakes
applied research for industry and government partners. His experience includes 8 years as a research officer at the
National Research Council of Canada, where he was involved in the development of both national and international
standards for solar heating equipment. In 1999, he co-founded Enerworks Inc., a leading manufacturer of solar
thermal products in North America, developing two patented technologies for the Enerworks, Integral Stagnation
Control, a method to prevent stagnation in solar thermal collectors and Passive Back Flow, a method to prevent
scaling in heat exchangers. In 2005, he became the Theme Leader for Solar Heating and Cooling within the Canadian
Solar Buildings Research Network. The Network includes the participation of researchers at 11 universities across
Canada. Dr. Harrison has also been the Faculty Advisor for the Queen’s University Solar Vehicle Team since 1988
(now Queen’s Solar Design Team) building more than a dozen solar vehicles and racing across the Australian
outback and north American numerous times in those vehicles. Dr. Harrison was also a project lead on the USDOW
Solar Decathlon Competition where his team place first overall in Engineering.

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