Richard Perez leads solar energy research at the University at Albany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. He has served multiple terms on the American Solar Energy Society board and as associate editor of Solar Energy Journal. He has produced over 300 journal articles, conference papers, books, and chapters.

Perez holds patents on energy storage and load management. The solar resource models he developed are embedded in many engineering and data simulation platforms worldwide. Perez has received several international awards, including a Certificate for Outstanding Research from the US Department of Energy, the American Solar Energy Society’s Charles Greeley Abbot Award, the First International Building and Daylight Award from the Velux Foundation, and the International Solar Energy Society’s Farrington Daniels Award. He leads an International Energy Agency task force on firm renewable power and received the CleanTech Business Club’s 2022 Visionary Scientist distinction for this work jointly with his son Marc.