Mark Laufenberg

Mark Laufenberg is a co-founder of PowerWorld Corporation and has been its president since its inception. PowerWorld was founded in 1996 to develop and commercialize technology originally developed in the ECE Department at Illinois.

In his role with PowerWorld, a Champaign-based company specializing in developing and distributing software to the electric energy industry, Laufenberg manages the daily activities of the company, directs the future development of its products, and participates in consulting projects for the industry.

PowerWorld has had over 500 separate corporate entities as customers and users of PowerWorld Simulator, its flagship product. It has been sold in 57 different countries around the world. PowerWorld’s customer list includes many regulatory agencies, consulting firms, foreign and domestic utilities, trading and investment firms, and universities.

He has been the principal investigator on five National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Grants, and has previous industrial experience at Pacific Gas & Electric and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. From 2000 to 2003, he was a visiting professor at Illinois, teaching a course on technical entrepreneurship.