Jeffrey A. Johnson Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Building Energy Codes and Performance

Jeffrey A. Johnson

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced this annual award in 2006 in honor of Jeffrey A. Johnson. Jeff was passionate about life and especially his work in the buildings arena and energy efficiency. Jeff was an enthusiastic, energetic visionary throughout his career at the California Energy Commission, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and as Executive Director of New Buildings Institute.

Early in Jeff's career, he made a significant impact in the California Energy Commission's building energy efficiency standards - Title 24 as the project lead for the Nonresidential Standards. He was compelled to make a difference at a national level and accepted a position managing the DOE's Building Energy Codes Program at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He worked closely with DOE in the development and design of easy-to-use code compliance tools (REScheck and COMcheck), and took a three-pronged approach to integrate research and development, implementation, and deployment at a national level.

Jeff led efforts in the mid-to-late 90s, in conjunction with state energy code advocates, to write a new commercial energy code that became the basis for the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The IECC today maintains a widely adopted progressive national model energy code. Under Jeff's leadership, New Buildings Institute launched and became home to Advanced Buildings™, a suite of technical resources, trainings and information to improve the way buildings are designed, built and used.

This award honors the memory of Jeff Johnson, who died on May 15, 2005, while mountain biking near his home in the Columbia River Gorge. Jeff lived his life doing what he loved, both at work and at play.

The Jeffrey A. Johnson Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Building Energy Codes and Performance recognizes a leader or a team in the United States (US Territories included) for sustained service of the highest caliber in the pursuit of energy efficiency goals. The award recipient exemplifies Jeff's enthusiasm, his motivation and drive for innovation, and his can-do, no-fear attitude for making a difference.

Criteria for this award and the nomination process was determined by a committee comprised of the US Department of Energy, Building Energy Codes Program, the New Buildings Institute, the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), and representatives from the building codes industry.

The intent of the award is to keep the memory of Jeff Johnson strong and to continue his vision and excellent performance in the nation's goals for energy-efficient buildings. For more information, view the Award Nomination Criteria

The 2009 award was presented at Energy Codes 2009, Portland, Oregon the week of July 27, 2009.

Past Recipients

• 2008:  Bruce Nelson, Minnesota Department of Commerce
• 2007:  John Hogan, City of Seattle 2007 Recipient
• 2006:  Bill Pennington, CEC 2006 Recipient

For more information, contact Terry Shoemaker.