Our team

Arne Jacobson is the Schatz Center Director and a professor of Environmental Resources Engineering at Cal Poly Humboldt. He is also the coordinator of Humboldt’s master’s program in Energy Technology and Policy (ETaP). Arne has a PhD from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree focused on Environmental Resources Engineering from Humboldt State University, and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Earlham College. Since joining Humboldt in 2005, he has served as the principal investigator on projects with cumulative budgets exceeding $20 million. He is actively engaged in technical and policy research related to solar power, offshore wind energy, and improved energy access for low-income people in off-grid areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. His three decades of international work experience includes a leadership role in developing and implementing VeraSol, the world’s leading framework for quality assurance for off-grid solar products. Arne currently serves as co-chair of the off-grid solar working group (Joint Working Group 1) of Technical Committee 82 (photovoltaics) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). He is a recipient of the California State University’s 2015 Wang Family Excellence Award.