Gwen Holdmann
Chief Scientist
Program Lead
Email: gwen.holdmann@alaska.edu
Phone: 907-474-5402 (ACEP office)
Fax: 907-474-5475 (ACEP office)
Expertise
- Alternative Fuel
- Decarbonization
- Energy Education, Interns and Workforce
- Energy Transitions
- Geothermal
- Greenhouse Gas Inventories
- Hydrogen
- Microgrids
- Nuclear
- Organic Rankine Cycle
- Policy and Global Applications
- Railbelt
- Arctic Energy Systems
BIO
ACEP’s founding director Gwen Holdmann is the chief scientist and program lead for the Energy Policy and Innovation Center. Her research focuses on energy policy and planning and small-scale nuclear energy.
Prior to joining UAF, Holdmann worked in the private sector as a design engineer and project manager, including working on the design and construction of the only operating geothermal power plant in Alaska at Chena Hot Springs.
She has been inducted into the Alaska Innovators Hall of Fame, was selected as a member of Alaska’s Top Forty Under 40 and is a former Arctic Fulbright Scholar. Holdmann has a B.S. in physics from Bradley University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in energy engineering and policy from UAF. She is the mother to three children and has completed the Yukon Quest and Iditarod sled dog races.
Blog Posts
- Jan. 16, 2026 - Nuclear energy, reconsidered: What’s changed, and why it matters for Alaska
- June 20, 2025 [co-authored] - Better citizens of the world: The legacy of Ron Johnson
- March 25, 2025 [co-authored] – Can data centers lower Alaska's high energy costs?
- Feb. 4, 2025 – What carbon capture and storage might mean for Alaska
- Feb. 4, 2024 [co-authored] – Alaska's data center opportunity: A reality check and possible next steps
- Sept. 15, 2023 [co-authored] - Demystifying nuclear energy
- July 7, 2023 – Does coal have a role in Alaska’s energy future
- June 29, 2023 – Innovation at the margins – Lessons learned from rural Alaska
- June 22, 2023 – Nuclear power and the perils of pioneering
- June 15, 2023 – Seven tomorrows – the perils of predicting the future
- June 7, 2023 – Cheaper by the dozen: Reducing Alaska’s electricity costs
- June 2, 2023 – Embarking on a quest for cheap energy
- May 22, 2023 - Alaska’s energy future: A view from my hot tub
- Oct. 20, 2022 – Nuclear energy and the role of UAF in raising awareness through public engagement
- March 18, 2020 - Hooray for reliable electricity!
- March 9, 2020 - Why solar PV isn't always the simple solution