On July 15, seven members of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) visited the Combustion Research Facility. Transportation Energy Center Director Bob Carling and Deputy Director of Chemical Sciences Dawn Manley gave the visitors an overview of the CRF. Blake Simmons, Senior Manager of Biofuels and BioMaterials Science and Technology, spoke about programs at the Joint BioEnergy Institute, where he is also Vice President for Deconstruction. This was followed by visits to an optical engine lab and a hydrogen lab. The CCST visitors also learned about the Livermore Valley Open Campus and student programs at Sandia.
CCST is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization designed to provide expert advice to the state government and to recommend solutions to science and technology-related policy issues. CCST offers California Science and Technology Policy Fellowships that place professional scientists and engineers in the California State Legislature for one-year appointments. Jessica Westbrook, who works in the Systems Research and Analysis group at Sandia, was in the first class of CCST Fellows from 2009–10.