Shalom Flank

Shalom Flank serves on the faculty of the Urban & Regional Planning program and is the nation’s first “micro-grid architect” in addition to serving as chief technology officer at Pareto Energy.Flank has spent more than a decade focusing on the planning, design and development of energy micro-grids in cities, working collaboratively with utilities, real estate developers, and technology development companies such as Pareto, Urban Ingenuity, and Anbaric.

Photo of Shalom Flank

Shalom Flank serves on the faculty of the Urban & Regional Planning program and is the nation’s first “micro-grid architect” in addition to serving as chief technology officer at Pareto Energy.

Flank has spent more than a decade focusing on the planning, design and development of energy micro-grids in cities, working collaboratively with utilities, real estate developers, and technology development companies such as Pareto, Urban Ingenuity, and Anbaric. Energy micro-grids are widely recognized as a new generation of decentralized urban infrastructure networks allowing cities to both reduce carbon emissions and become more resilient to risks associated with the electricity grid. 

Flank’s research and work includes the technical, financial, and regulatory aspects of micro-grid project deployment, from initial assessments and conceptual design, through financing, permitting, and engineering. He serves as the principal investigator and project director for the Washington D.C.’s three-year micro-grid study, which includes the creation of a first-in-the-nation Micro-grid Extension Service. Flank is a frequent advisor to commercial companies and public agencies on renewable energy technologies. He has helped the National Science Foundation assess the commercial viability of new photovoltaic and fuel cell technologies and has worked with innovative companies to commercialize clean energy and energy efficiency technologies.

He holds a Doctorate in Energy Policy, Engineering & Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Physics from Cornell University.