Douglas J. Arent is a non-resident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Arent is also the executive director of Strategic Public-Private Partnerships at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),  the principal research laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Arent has worked in research on energy and sustainability for more than 30 years, publishing extensively on topics within clean energy, renewable energy, power systems, natural gas, and the intersection of science and public policy. 

In addition to his NREL responsibilities, Arent is senior visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He serves on the World Economic Forum Future of Electricity Working Group and advisory boards for the Post Carbon Transition Program at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at Oxford University, U.K.; the Smart Electric Power Association; and the Energy Academy of Europe, Netherlands. He is also member of the Keystone Energy Board. Arent is the editor in chief for Renewable Energy Focus and is associate editor for the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 

Arent has a Ph.D. from Princeton University, an MBA from Regis University, and a bachelor's of science from Harvey Mudd College in California.