Development

Soil Organic Matter Storage and Turnover Along Granite and Basalt Climate Transects in California Uplands (04 PhD)

Farm-level Agricultural Energy Technologies in an Egyptian Village: Engineering and Socio-Economic Characteristics and Consequences in the Context of the Political Economy of Food Security (94 PhD)

My principal interests are the development of sustainable urban systems that improve quality of life for people and work in harmony with the natural environment through the utilization of clean and renewable energy, the application of technology, and the design of circular economic systems.

Dawson is a Master’s student in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. His interests lie at the intersection of data science and sustainable development, with a focus on climate adaptation, agriculture, and natural resource economics. He’s currently studying weatherization policies in Europe and the domestic political economy of climate finance in Latin America. Before joining ERG, Dawson worked on natural resources policy in Alaska’s state legislature. He grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, and holds a BA in Political Science from Stanford University.

Faraj is a master’s student in UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group (ERG) with an interest in engineered biomass, biofuels, and bioenergy systems that enable the removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Drawing on his chemical engineering background and experience in the oil and gas industry, he approaches decarbonization challenges through a combination of systems analysis and applied industry insight. His research focuses on techno-economic modeling, life-cycle assessment, and policy evaluation to advance carbon-negative fuels and carbon-removal pathways that support equitable and scalable...

Policies for an Ecological Civilization: China, Carbon, and Economic Reform (PhD ’19) Cecilia is a PhD candidate at ERG. Her dissertation uses economic modeling and social science to critically analyze several of China’s flagship energy and climate policies. She is a research affiliate at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s China Energy Group, where she works on industrial energy efficiency. Previously, Cecilia worked in Wash­ing­ton, DC on inter­na­tional cli­mate, energy, and development pol­icy at Cli­mate Advis­ers. She is on the Cal Wushu team, where she studies her other passion...

Achieving Grassroots Participation in Agricultural Development: Lessons from One Organization in Guatemala (’94 M.S.)

Combining Super-Efficient Appliances with Off-Grid Solar Photovoltaics (12 MS)

Adriana Gonzales is a PhD student at the Energy and Resources Group. Gonzales’ interests includes examining how the responses of local Caribbean communities to energy inequities in the wake of climate change-induced disaster, can be used to reimagine more equitable and sustainable power systems. Gonzales is also interested in working across linguistic regions of the Caribbean to look at the islands most vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change. They have proposed looking at Dominica and Puerto Rico’s energy systems and communities using an interdisciplinary, mixed methods approach.

Prior to...

Achieving Long-term Climate Goals in the US: Unlocking the Potential of High-Efficiency Electric Technology in Our Homes and Buildings (MS/MPP ’16)

Rachel is interested in advancing policies that can help integrate large amounts of renewable energy and electric vehicles onto the grid. As such, she studies mechanisms that increase flexibility on the load and resource supply-side. She also focuses on how policies can support low-income communities having increased access to clean energy technologies and services. Rachel currently works part-time at the California Public Utilities Commission...