Potter

Potter is located on the beautiful western edge of campus. It neighbors the other houses in Sterling Quad—Robinson, Schiff, and Adams—and is steps away from the educational farm, tennis courts, driving range, golf course, and Red Barn. Beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year, the Explore Energy House will be located in Potter.

A large field and picnic area is directly adjacent to the house, with barbecues, basketball courts, and a sand volleyball court. Lake Lagunita is just across the lawn, and one block down the road you will find Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center (AOERC), which offers a recreational swimming pool, climbing gym, indoor basketball courts, and fitness center. Residents share a computer cluster and study room, laundry room, kitchenette, and lounge with a piano, pool table, and television. The front door opens into a courtyard that leads to Ricker Dining Hall. More than just a building, we hope Potter can become your home away from home, a supportive community that celebrates the incredible intellectual and personal dynamism that each person brings to a house. 

Resident Fellow

Dr. Holmes Hummel is the first Managing Director for Energy Equity and Just Transition at Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy. Holmes is also the co-founder of multiple courses at Stanford, including Quest for an Inclusive Clean Energy Economy and Racial Equity in Energy. In addition, Holmes is a regular guest in the special orientation for incoming graduate students in the Energy@Stanford & SLAC program and students at all levels in Stanford's foundational course, Understand Energy. 

Over the past two decades, Holmes has worked at the intersection of energy policy, technology, and finance through positions in academia, private sector, public policy, and civil society organizations. These adventures in energy first began in the mid-90s when Holmes co-led a college team to develop a solar powered battery-electric car, designed as a super-efficient experimental vehicle to race across the country with cars built by other college teams. Many of the related innovations demonstrated in that race are now commercial in mass production, real-life energy revolutions!

Later, as a Congressional Science Fellow, Holmes worked on developing federal energy policy in the office of a national leader on clean energy, Jay Islee, and was subsequently appointed to serve as the Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Policy & International Affairs for the first term of the Obama Administration. Most recently, Holmes founded Clean Energy Works, an award-winning public interest organization with expertise in inclusive financial solutions that can accelerate investment in the clean energy economy for all.

Holmes is a three-time graduate from Stanford, starting with an individually designed major in energy engineering as an undergraduate - back when the University offered no such degree.  Holmes was also the first graduate in the initial cohort of PhD candidates admitted to the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, focusing on global energy transition scenarios for 100% clean energy. Now there are multiple paths for majors, minors, certificates and more!

As the founding Resident Fellow in the Explore Energy House, Holmes is eager to create more space for emergent leaders with interests in an inclusive clean energy economy and to ensure Explore Energy House is a place where all residents can thrive.  Joining Holmes in the adventure as founding Resident Fellow at the Explore Energy House is Ren Essene, a leader in a federal agency focused on consumer protection, and our beloved dog, Jameson.