Brian Norton (engineer)
{{short description|Irish engineer, President of Dublin Institute of Technology 2003-2018}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Brian Norton
| image =
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| caption = President, Dublin Institute of Technology
| birth_date = 1955
| birth_place = Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom
| nationality = British
| fields = Energy Engineering
Physics
Solar Energy
| workplaces = Tyndall National Institute
University College Cork
Technological University Dublin
Dublin Institute of Technology
Ulster University
Cranfield University
| alma_mater = University of Nottingham
Cranfield University
| doctoral_advisor =
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}}
Brian Norton is a solar energy applications researcher and technologist. As president of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) from 2003 to 2018,{{cite news|title=New President is appointed for DIT|newspaper=Irish Independent|date=27 April 2003}}{{cite news|title=Prof Brian Norton reappointed as DIT President|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=17 April 2013}} he was an advocate for diversity of higher education in Ireland.{{cite news|title=ITs or Tech Unis|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=16 February 2014}}{{cite news|title=The transforming landscape of higher education in Ireland|newspaper=Public Affairs Ireland|date=4 April 2014}} He has also been associated with the relocation of DIT from a multiplicity of scattered buildings to a single city centre campus in the Grangegorman neighbourhood of Dublin{{cite news|title=Finishing touches as DIT campus opens in the heart of city|date=4 September 2014|newspaper=The Irish Times}}{{cite news|title=DIT opens new campus in Grangegorman to first students|date=10 September 2014|newspaper=Irish Independent}} and the creation of the Technological University Dublin, Ireland's first Technological University.
In 2020 he became head of energy research at Tyndall National Institute,{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlight/arid-40036607|title = Pádraig Hoare: Time for a green light for the sustainable energy of the future|date = 24 August 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlight/arid-40078274|title = Special Report: Endless possibilities of solar power investment|date = 9 November 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40088483|title=Incentives needed for heat pumps to take off|date=24 November 2020}} research professor at University College Cork as well as professor of solar energy applications at Technological University Dublin.
Biography
In 1989 Norton was appointed by Sir Derek Birley as the first professor in the field of the Built Environment at the University of Ulster, prior to which he taught at Cranfield University. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy{{cite news|title=DIT President elected to membership of the Royal Irish Academy|newspaper=Astronomy Today|date=1 June 2016}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.ria.ie/news/membership/admittance-day-2016 |title=Admittance Day 2016 | Royal Irish Academy |access-date=4 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005165654/https://www.ria.ie/news/membership/admittance-day-2016 |archive-date=5 October 2016 |url-status=dead }} and a fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering.{{cite web|title=EuroCase website|url=http://www.euro-case.org/.../185_4578557290803a73f4006f38f2098a4f.html}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Norton studied physics at the University of Nottingham and engineering at Cranfield University and holds doctorates from both universities. He has been conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of Technology of Troyes.{{cite web| url=https://www.utt.fr/actualites/deux-sommites-de-la-science-a-troyes-naomi-j-halas-et-brian-norton-seront-presents-a-lutt-du-samedi-25-au-mercredi-29-septembre-2021| website=utt.fr| title=deux sommites de la science a troyes naomi j halas et brian norton seront presents a lutt du samedi 25 au mercredi 29 septembre 2021| access-date=6 October 2021| archive-date=23 September 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923151427/https://www.utt.fr/actualites/deux-sommites-de-la-science-a-troyes-naomi-j-halas-et-brian-norton-seront-presents-a-lutt-du-samedi-25-au-mercredi-29-septembre-2021| url-status=dead}} His most-cited research papers are on improving photovoltaic module efficiency via use of various types of heat sink that enable operation closer to ambient temperatures.{{Cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IxAYv3kAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao|title = Brian Norton}} He co-chaired, with Wim van Saarloos, the European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) activity that led to a 2021 report on “Decarbonisation of Buildings{{Cite web|url=https://easac.eu/fileadmin/PDF_s/reports_statements/Decarb_of_Buildings/EASAC_Decarbonisation_of_Buildings_Web_publication030621.pdf}}
Selected bibliography
- Harnessing Solar Heat, Springer, 2013{{cite book|last=Norton|first=Brian|title=Harnessing Solar Heat|year=2013|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-94-007-7275-5}}
- Solar Energy Thermal Technology. Springer, 1992{{cite book|last=Norton|first=Brian|title=Solar Energy Thermal Technology|year=1992|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4471-1744-5}}
- "Industrial and Agricultural Applications of Solar Energy". In Comprehensive Renewable Energy, Elsevier, 2012{{cite book|last=Sayigh A (Editor)|title=Comprehensive Renewable Energy|year=2012|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-08-087872-0}} (winner of a 2012 PROSE Awards of the Association of American Publishers for best multi-volume reference work)
- "Solar Energy Collectors and their applications". In Solar Energy Science and Engineering Applications. CRC Press, 2013{{cite book|last=Enteria N and Akbarzadeh A (Eds)|title=Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Applications|year=2013|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1138000131}}
- "The Shadows Cast by Inadequate Energy Governance: Why more Sun does not necessarily mean more photovoltaic electricity". Norton contributed with Sarah McCormack of Trinity College Dublin, to Renewable Energy Governance: Challenges and Insecurities. Springer, 2013{{cite book|last=E Michalena (Editor)|title=Renewable Energy Governance|year=2013|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4471-5595-9}}
- "Solar Power and the Enabling Role of Nanotechnology", Norton contributed with Ali Shakouri and Helen McNally, both of Purdue University to Understanding the Global Energy Crisis, Purdue University Press, 2014.{{cite book|last=E. Coyle and R.A. Simmons, eds|title=Understanding the Global Energy Crisis|year=2014|publisher=Purdue University Press|isbn=978-1-55753-661-7}}
- "Low temperature solar thermal applications". Norton contributed with Hans Martin Henning of Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and Daniel Mugnier of Tecsol, Vice-chair of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme to Solar Energy. World Scientific Press, 2016{{cite book|last=G Crawley, ed|title=Solar Energy |year=2016|publisher=World Scientific Press|isbn=978-981-4689-49-6}}
References
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Category:Academics of Dublin Institute of Technology
Category:People associated with renewable energy
Category:People associated with solar power
Category:Presidents of Dublin Institute of Technology
Category:Alumni of Cranfield University
Category:Academics of Cranfield University
Category:Alumni of the University of Nottingham
Category:Academics of Ulster University
Category:English mechanical engineers
Category:Members of the Royal Irish Academy