ASPIRE Research Center Adds Full-time Staff

The ASPIRE National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center (ERC) finalized four full-time staff hires over the winter break. These individuals will play a key role in advancing sustainable electrified transportation research and development across transportation planning, marketing and communications, grant and proposal writing, and data analysis and modeling. Several more roles are expected to be filled immediately across the ASPIRE partner ecosystem in support of this goal.

Join us in welcoming our newest hires:

Bartly Matthews – Director of Electrified Transportation Planning

A Cache Valley native, Bartly is excited to return to his roots in his new role as Director of Electrified Transportation Planning at ASPIRE. The nexus of his career experiences in transportation planning and energy development has prepared him well to lead in this position.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Utah, Bartly went on to earn a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning degree from the University of Virginia. Most recently, he was employed as the transportation planner for Davis County where he coordinated all aspects of the county’s transportation needs. Prior employment included working for the State of Utah in the Office of Energy Development and the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.

Bartly is looking forward to working with the exceptionally talented and dedicated team at ASPIRE and throughout its ten core and affiliated university institutions located nationwide and internationally. He believes the innovative wireless and plug-in charging infrastructure and systems solutions that they are developing as a National Science Foundation engineering research center are pivotal to guiding society on the best path forward to electrify the transportation sector.

Anca Matcovschi – Chief Communications and Marketing Officer

Anca returns to Utah State University as ASPIRE’s first communications and marketing leader on the USU Innovation Campus in Logan, Utah. Her mission is to increase the visibility and transparency of the center’s efforts and achievements across a complex network of university, industry, community, and government partners, as well as in the public eye.

Before joining ASPIRE, Anca was Vice President of Marketing at Lightcast (formerly Emsi BurningGlass), where she led the marketing efforts for a portfolio of ten edtech software and consulting services informing the programming, student career success, and industry partnership decisions of 1,200+ higher education clients and vendors across North America. Her professional background includes four years in post- traditional and adult learner marketing and recruitment at Utah State University, garnering multiple awards over the years, and culminating in 2020 with UPCEA’s prestigious national Dorothy Durkin Award for Strategic Innovation in Marketing and/or Enrollment Management.

Anca’s achievements are a direct result of her ability to successfully adapt and translate into the education space almost 15 years of strategic marketing experience working in full-service agencies in the U.S., UAE, and Europe. An avid proponent of lifelong learning, Anca is a PROSCI-certified change management practitioner and holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s in marketing management and business communications, along with an MBA in data analytics from the Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. By joining ASPIRE, Anca looks forward to supporting the center’s transformations across the transportation and electric utility industries in Utah and globally.

David Trinko – Lead System Modeling Engineer

During school at Colorado State University, David cultivated a broad understanding of transportation electrification, covering the subtleties of vehicle powertrain control and the complexities of nationwide loading infrastructure planning. Since completing his doctorate in Systems Engineering, David has been dedicated to finding effective strategies to ease and speed the electric vehicle transition.

Prior to joining ASPIRE, David conducted data analysis and modeling efforts at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), primarily supporting a public, nationwide, spatially detailed assessment of EV power demands on the grid. Through data analysis and modeling efforts as part of ASPIRE, David is eager to help decision-makers chart an efficient and equitable path for the future transportation system.

Narayne Rougeau – Grants & Programs Specialist

Having served over a decade in Sponsored Programs at Utah State University, Narayne learned all aspects of grants management, including proposal preparation and submission, compliance with various federal, state, and private rules and regulations, and award management. This role afforded her the opportunity to serve various faculty researchers and staff in their research efforts as well as learning from colleagues around the country and world who serve in similar capacities.

Narayne joined USU after a 15-year career in the legal field, first in liability defense in private practice and then as an assistant to general counsel at the world’s largest exercise equipment manufacturer, where she was able to expand her legal knowledge from not only liability but corporate law as well as patents and trademarks.

Her extensive experience in these fields has prepared Narayne well for serving in ASPIRE, where she looks forward to continuing to work with and serve so many whom she has come to respect through the years. She commented: “The research that is being done in ASPIRE is fascinating to me, in that I know this is laying the groundwork for the future of our country and the world. Being involved in something that I can tell will affect generations to come is both exciting and invigorating, and I am so honored to be part of such a visionary team.”


About ASPIRE

Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification (ASPIRE) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Generation 4 Engineering Research Center (ERC) that conducts vital R&D to catalyze sustainable and equitable electrification across the transportation industries. ASPIRE leads the efforts of close to 400 global contributors working in sync towards facilitating widespread electrification of all vehicle classes and catalyzing the creation of public infrastructure that provides an inexpensive, seamless charging experience.

ASPIRE initiatives help reduce harmful emissions, improve air quality and public health, and protect the environment while supporting economic development through reduced cost and scale efficiencies, clean transportation workforce skilling and job creation, and equitable access across these opportunities for all. Efforts are integrated across multiple disciplines, including engineering, social science, policy, and business through close collaboration with 10 top-tier universities, over 60 industry, government, and Not-profit members across all sections of the electric transportation ecosystem, as well as community partners and advisors at every level of society.

Contacts

Anca Matcovschi
Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
ASPIRE / Utah State University
435-797-4949
anca.matcovschi@usu.edu