Blake Boren is a researcher with over a decade of expertise in marine renewable energy, encompassing contributions across industry and academia. Holding a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon State University (2015), Blake is a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), specializing in technology innovation, modeling, and assessing marine energy systems. In this role, Blake leads pioneering efforts to harness ocean wave energy for diverse applications, ranging from powering small-scale devices, such as navigational beacons, to supporting utility-scale electrical grids. Before joining NREL, Blake was a Modeling and Controls Engineer at a wave energy startup, where they led the numerical modeling and controls team. This role was followed by a postdoctoral position at Virginia Tech, where Blake conducted advanced fluid-structure interaction analyses to enhance the efficiency of ocean energy converters. With comprehensive expertise in dynamics, control systems, embedded systems, and numerical modeling, Blake is committed to advancing renewable energy technologies to address global energy needs through sustainable solutions.