Dr. Mike Wagner is the Ragland Family Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on the modeling, optimization, and control of sustainable energy systems, with the goal of improving the design and operation of solar thermal energy, thermal and electrochemical energy storage, nuclear energy systems, and building energy technologies. He serves as Co-Director of the Solar Energy Laboratory, the world's oldest solar energy research laboratory, and as Principal Investigator of the Energy Systems Optimization Lab. Dr. Wagner holds affiliate faculty appointments with the Department of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics, the Wisconsin Energy Institute, and the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium. Before joining UW-Madison in 2020, Dr. Wagner spent 12 years as a Senior Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. He earned his BS and MS degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his PhD from the Colorado School of Mines.