Director of Grand Valley's alternative energy center steps down

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Grand Valley State University announced today that Imad Mahawili, Ph.D., the executive director of the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon will leave his post effective April 1, 2009.

The university has appointed Arnold Boezaart, the former vice president for Grant Programs for the Community Foundation for Muskegon County as the temporary director while the university searches for a permanent replacement. In his role with the Community Foundation, Boezaart handled the project that put the wind energy turbine atop the Frauenthal Center in downtown Muskegon.

“Because of my long-standing career in the Muskegon area, I am deeply connected and committed to the community,” said Arn Boezaart. “I am excited to have the opportunity to help Grand Valley and the rest of the stakeholders take MAREC to the next level of excellence.”

Mahawili became the executive director of MAREC in 2003, the first person to hold the position. He previously had served as founder, president and chief executive officer of Micro C Technologies, Inc. and IsoComforter Co. Mahawili's own work on alternative and renewable energy began early in his career, and he holds nearly 30 patents.

Highlights from Mahawili’s tenure at MAREC are the commercialization of the waste to energy program at a local dairy farm and the development of the home energy wind turbine soon to be sold to consumers.

Mahawili will continue to work with MAREC as a consultant. His first project will be to continue work on the off-shore wind demonstration project that just received $1.4 million from the federal government. MAREC will partner with the local community in an effort to raise the additional funds necessary for the project. 

Mahawili said being freed from the administrative duties of MAREC will allow him to focus on his other projects.

Grand Valley is forming a search committee for a permanent executive director that will include university personnel and members of the Muskegon community.

Additional background:

Grand Valley’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon is a business incubator and research and development center for alternative and renewable energy technologies. It also serves as a major demonstration project of those technologies. The center is equipped with a fuel cell that turns natural gas into electricity, photovoltaic cells to capture the sun's energy, a nickel metal hydride battery to store excess energy from peak times for use later, and a microturbine.

MAREC is one of 11 SmartZones created by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. in 2001 as part of an effort to promote and attract high technology business development in the state. Grand Valley was the only university in the state to be granted two SmartZones — one in Grand Rapids and one in Muskegon.

Grand Valley State University attracts nearly 24,000 students with high-quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is the comprehensive regional university for Michigan’s second largest metropolitan area and offers 71 undergraduate and 26 graduate degree programs. It has campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships.