John Harte is a physicist turned ecologist. His research interests span ecological field research, the theory of complex systems, and policy analysis. Current interests include applying insights from information theory to the analysis of complex ecosystems and empirical investigation of climate-ecosystem feedback dynamics.

Dr. Jones is an Earth scientist who works at the interface of human and environmental systems. His research uses quantitative models and data analysis to understand climate change and human-Earth system interactions at decision-relevant scales. He also collaborates with social scientists and interacts closely with stakeholders to understand how science can effectively provide actionable insight […]

Lara Kueppers is an Associate Professor in the Energy and Resources Group, with a Faculty Scientist appointment at Berkeley Lab. She is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist, whose research focuses on ecological responses and feedbacks to climate change.

Professor Ray’s research interests are water and development; technology and development; common property resources; and social science research methods. Her research projects focus on access to water and sanitation for the rural and urban poor, and on the role of technology in improving livelihoods.

My interests range from the integration of renewables into existing grids,the possibility of indigenes (especially women) in rural communities producing their own power or at least understanding its workings and the interaction between science and policy making in developing countries. I would love to study in the Renewable & Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL) or the […]

Operation, Cost, and Environmental Impact of Self-Driving Electric Taxi Fleets (MS ’18) Transportation has long been dominated by the personal gasoline-powered automobile, but breakthroughs in electric vehicles, shared mobility, and automation promise to disrupt the sector. Gordon’s research focuses on leveraging these disruptions to maximize both social and environmental sustainability, drawing on insights from a […]

Dennis has focused his career on technology and sustainability policy in emerging and developing economies. His research interests include technology and innovation policy and impacts to resource and rural development, technology transfer and the political economy of land use management. He has led programs with the Paris based International Energy Agency, as an official of the […]

Beyond Energy Access: Understanding the Household Dynamics of Modernizing Cooking in Rural Karnataka, India (MA ’18) Bodie uses interdisciplinary approaches to investigate land-based solutions to climate change. He currently studies how policy and innovative technology can enable carbon-beneficial forest management. This work bridges industrial ecology, forest economics, and forest ecology. His modeling work has focused […]

Kate’s PhD research examines the role of climate change in exacerbating water stress and food insecurity in urbanized and highly irrigated basins in the Andes mountains. Her research builds upon work in Chile analyzing water security implications of glacier retreat as a Fulbright Fellow and the distributional impacts of rural-to-urban water transfers for her MSc […]

John’s research is primarily concerned with macro-energy systems analysis. He is interested in the life cycle characteristics of renewable energy systems, with a current focus on the carbon drawdown potential of BECCS and other product pathways in the bioeconomy. He is also interested in the qualitative changes implied by future energy pathways by way of […]

Taryn Fransen is a PhD student with the Energy and Resources Group and a Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute. Her research interests center on the design and implementation of deep decarbonization strategies. Taryn came to Berkeley from a career in climate policy, during which she served most recently as an advisor to the […]

Effects of Electricity Consumption and Rate Design on Solar Plus Storage-enabled Grid Defection (MS ’19) Will’s primary research interests involve assessing the opportunity for distributed energy resources to participate on the electric system while investigating their technical impact on the grid. Prior to joining ERG, he worked for the Brattle Group’s utilities group in Boston […]

The Value of Connectivity: A Case Study of Cellular Networks in the Rural Philippines (MA ’18) Anushah studies internet accessibility and security. Her interest in these topics grew from experiencing difficulties accessing critical online services while working on development projects abroad. She has since been investigating disparities in website availability worldwide and the role of […]

My research interests lie at the intersection if climate change, conservation, and agriculture in the West. About 50% if future viable wildlife habitat in California will be in private, food-producing land; meanwhile, agricultural activity contributes up to one-third of our global greenhouse gas emissions. I’m excited by the “triple-threat” potential—for reducing atmospheric carbon, mitigating climate […]

Oliver is a concurrent ERG/MPP student at UC Berkeley. His research and policy interests lie at the intersection of climate change, conservation, and natural resource management in California and the American West. Prior to joining ERG, he was a graduate fellow at the Strategic Growth Council in the Governor’s Office of California. A lifelong student […]

Stephen is a PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley’s Energy & Resources Group and a Researcher at the Energy Institute at Haas. His work lies at the intersection of economics, public policy and data science. His research interests are centered on the energy sector and the environment, with a particular focus on electricity markets. His primary […]

Seigi is really, really into drinking water access. He is particularly passionate about mulling over why and how drinking water disparities have emerged in California (hint: systemic racism and classism). He hopes these interests and beliefs will translate well into academic publications. The majority of his free time is spent climbing in Yosemite, throwing pottery, […]

Jose Daniel was born in San José Costa Rica, received his B.Sc. and Licentiate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Costa Rica in 2009 and 2012 respectively, his M.Sc. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada in 2014, and his M.S. in Energy and Resources from the University of […]

Sophie Major is an interdisciplinary PhD candidate, studying and researching across the disciplines of political theory, environmental politics, and Indigenous studies. Their dissertation examines the marginalization of Indigenous people and Indigenous knowledge in political theory discourses and asks if and how political theorists ought to engage with Indigenous political thought. Incorporating original ethnographic work with […]

Jill is interested in studying market outcomes, reliability concerns, and community planning objectives as they relate to electric grid decarbonization. Specifically, she’s interested in understanding how valuing community-level costs and benefits of zero-carbon energy options in investment models could better inform potential solutions. Prior to joining ERG, Jill worked for the Brattle Group’s energy practice, […]

Evaluation of Social Networks and Measures of Empowerment Among Adolescent Girls in Uttar Pradesh, India (MS ’19) Gauthami’s research interests focus on how social networks influence health behaviors and decisions around access and use of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructures and its implications on the health and dignity of women and children in developing […]

Managed Workplace Charging of Electric Vehicles as a Grid Asset (MS ’18) Phillippe is an MS student at ERG. His research interests are in the integration of distributed energy resources and the decarbonization of the electricity sector. In 2005, Phillippe enlisted in the US Navy where he worked on an aircraft carrier as a nuclear […]

Sobol Sensitivity Analysis for Integrated Assessment Models: Supporting Result Characterization (MS ’19) Lisa is interested in using computer science to explore issues related to the economic impacts of climate change, and to support research and policy-making in this area. She currently works on software development of the Mimi package to support the construction and use […]

Julia studied economics and Spanish at UC Berkeley as an undergraduate, and realized her interest in energy and environmental issues while a research assistant at the UC Energy Institute. After consulting in the energy and finance sectors, she worked at Pacific Gas & Electric forecasting electric generation and its cost for customer rates. For the […]

Who Governs a Sustainable Neighborhood? Planning a Community-scale Retrofit in Oakland, California (MS ’18) Emma’s interests are at the intersection of climate change adaptation, environmental justice, and science and technology studies, with a focus on renewable energy technology adoption in under-resourced communities. She received her B.A. in Geography and B.S. in Environmental Sciences at UC […]

Tropical Forests and the Allocation of Carbon to Reproduction (MS ’20) Rachel is interested in the social, ecological, and geophysical dynamics of agro-forestry coffee and cacao systems in the tropics. Her aim is to couple participatory research of agro-forestry management choices with mathematical modeling and statistical analysis to understand how changes in management influence ecosystem […]

An Examination of an Enhanced Remote Sensing Method for Detecting Agents of Forest Disturbance (MS ’20) Marshall’s research looks into the connections between forest dynamics and water. He uses remote sensing data and open-source modeling tools to explore how disturbances affect forest structure and forest hydrology. He is also broadly interested in climate, conflict, and […]

Mining Data on Reclaimed Coal Mines: a Machine Learning Approach to Assessing Habitat Suitability (MS ’18) Hilary received her B.A. in Government and Biological Sciences, with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the latter, from Cornell University, where she graduated in 2015. At ERG, Hilary is interested in exploring the science-law nexus and […]

Rot is Hot: Home Composting in Alameda County (91 MA) Research Interests: How do we make the shift to sustainable economy and society? Compost, ride a bike, eat, buy, and grow organic food. The search continues for new ways to promote this shift, and have FUN!

The Costs of Environmental Degradation (’78 M.S.) Emission Sources Contributing to Acid Precipitation in the Western United States (’86 Ph.D.)

Targeted Efficiency: Using Customer Meter Data to Improve Efficiency Program Outcomes (PhD ’14) Sam’s works focuses on tools to scale up and improve the performance of energy efficiency programs in support of renewable energy integration and climate mitigation goals. His work combines insights from building science, behavioral sciences, and engineering to interpret patterns in building […]

Samuel Carrara holds a Bachelor Degree and a Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering (Major: Energy and Mechanical Plants) and a PhD in Energy and Environmental Technologies, all from the University of Bergamo, Italy. After working as an engineer in the gas turbine field, he is now a researcher at Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Milan, […]

Mind the Gap: Bridging Strategies for Universal Energy Access (PhD ’19) Since graduating as an electronics engineer in 2004, JP Carvallo has been working, studying, and researching different aspects of the energy field. His current interests relate to varied topics in sustainable development for less industrialized economies, with a geographical focus in Latin America and Asia. […]

On Rate Regulation in Modern Electricity Sectors (PhD ’17) Felipe was a Ph.D. Candidate with ERG. His research seeks to improve the understanding and organization of energy systems, leveraging methods, and concepts developed in fields including operations research, microeconomics, and industrial organization. Felipe’s work puts a particular emphasis on the development and application of data […]

Dr. Chafe works at the intersections of public health, air pollution, climate change, and energy use. She holds a PhD from the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), as well as an MPH from UC Berkeley. She has been a researcher/consultant for entities such as the World Health Organization, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, […]

At times the problem of understanding phenomena is one of seeing. That is why Danielle explores new ways of demystifying complexity through visual representation. She seeks new techniques to illustrate often-forgotten, yet fundamental dependencies between human society and the natural world. One such technique is terrestrial laser scanning (also known as LIDAR), which she used to create a 3-D model of her ecological study site in the Sierra Nevada. This along with her seedling research seeks to inform the uncertain future of resource management.

Assessing Instream Flow Standards Under Climate Change Implications for State-Level Policy in the U.S. (MS/MPP ’17) Rebecca completed a Master’s degree in both the Energy and Resources Group and the Goldman School of Public Policy (MA/MPP). Her research interests focus on the sustainable use of water resources, integrating work in ecology, equity, and climate change […]

Michael Cohen puts the power and complexity of the grid into students' hands via a video game. We asked Michael about his innovative project and his unique experience at ERG. "In addition to developing the game itself, I am working with teachers at local high schools to develop curriculum around it and try it out with their students this year. I hope to not only create a solid educational product but also gain some insights into how technology can be used to support learning about complex systems in general."

Getting Serious About Water Wheeling in California: Learning from the Experience of the Natural Gas and Electric Industries (01 MS) Research Interests: Removing impediments to water markets and transfers in the Western U.S. Focused on how experience in restructuring of the natural gas and electric industries can encourage more active water markets. In particular studying […]

Katie’s interests are in community forestry, natural resource conflict management, cultural dimensions of ecosystem management and place studies. She graduated with a BA in Anthropology from Davidson College (2010) and focused undergraduate research on sense of place in Southern Appalachian coal communities. Katie previously worked as a field educator for the Teton Science Schools in […]

Common Resources, Private Benefits: Shifting Access in Mexico’s Community Forests (’08 MS)

Julian’s interests lie in the relationships between water use and economic development, focusing on modeling and governance. Mr. Fulton’s previous research includes water use in the transportation sector, conservation strategies among California utilities, and European flood management policy. He recently completed a Fulbright Fellowship in the Netherlands and holds an M.S. in Civil and Environmental […]

Investigating Innovation Practice: Cross-disciplinary Studies in International Development (PhD ’18) As a NSF, Chancellor’s, and InFEWS Fellow in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), Pierce investigates frameworks, methodologies, and contexts for evaluating innovation for social change. By understanding how socially-minded organizations integrate, support, and channel innovation-incentivizing processes to generate value for end consumers, he characterizes […]

Decision Support for Multi-benefit Urban Water Infrastructure (PhD ’18) Sasha Harris-Lovett received a PhD from the Energy and Resources Group in 2018. Her dissertation research focused on urban water and wastewater management, decision analysis for socio-environmental problems, and collaborative environmental planning. She is dedicated to making science accessible to students, policy-makers, and community members. She […]

Understanding and Reconciling Global Temperature Records (PhD ’19) Zeke is an energy systems analyst and data scientist with a strong interest in climate science and policy. He is currently the VP of Energy Science at Essess, Inc, an energy efficiency startup that develops vehicle mounted thermal imaging systems, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, and […]

Reshaping the relationships in Ungula’s electricity sector: the advent of the prepay meter (MS ’15) Presumptions and Precarity: Probing Electricity Infrastructure (PhD ’20) Veronica Jacome is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) and holds a BS in Engineering Physics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At ERG, Veronica focuses on the […]

Ready-to-use? Bridging the Climate Science Usability Gap for Adaptation (PhD ’19) Kripa’s research interests are in the field of climate change adaptation and climate-resilient planning. Her PhD focuses on improving the ‘usability’ of climate science for adaptation decision-making, particularly for water resources management and agricultural planning. She uses qualitative and participatory research methods to understand […]

Mitigation Banking: Protecting Resources or Minimizing Enforcement Costs? (’87 M.S.) Population Differentiation in Tree-Ring Growth Responses of White Fir (Abies Concolor) to Climate: Implications for Predicting Forest Responses to Climate Change (’93 Ph.D.)

Josiah Johnston grew up in a rural part of the Ozark Mountains. He is great at construction and swinging a pick. Between college and grad school he lived in Baltimore for five years. When Josiah left for grad school, he was a tenured researcher in a genetics lab and had a seat on the board […]

Chris Jones is lead developer at the CoolClimate Network, an applied research consortium at UC Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory that supports the development of comprehensive, socially integrated carbon footprint management tools and programs for individuals, schools, businesses and communities. His primary research interests intersect the fields of industrial ecology, environmental psychology, and climate […]

Financial Incentive Policies to Promote End-Use Solar Technologies in a Restructured Electricity Industry: Comparing the Costs (’97 M.A.)

Joe’s broad research interests include sustainable consumption and pro-environmental behavior change. His dissertation explores the linkages between psychological well-being and the environment, arguing that happiness and sustainability are synergistic concepts and that delving into how people use their time is a practical means of concurrently pursuing both goals. Joe’s own happiness has historically been pursued […]

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Ann Kinzig Ph.D. ’94 Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University Perhaps more than most alumni, Ann Kinzig’s intellectual path has traversed ERG’s interdisciplinary bounds, grappling with the physical, life and social science aspects of the world’s ecological and social problems during, and especially after, her time at ERG. […]

"23% fewer women than men are online in developing countries. If no concerted effort is taken, that internet gap is going to grow. When women see role models—people doing things—it enables them and empowers them to think, 'Well, I can do that as well.' And, accessing the internet and using technologies exposes them to an entirely new world," says ERG Alum, Dr. Renee (Kuriyan) Wittemyer. She is Intel's Director of Social Impact.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: SHARAD LÉLÉ Ph.D. 1993 Senior Fellow, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (Bangalore) Sharad Lele never intended to become an academic. And even though his resume is chock-full of scholarly publications, he still believes that applying the interdisciplinary academic knowledge gained at ERG defines ERG’s crucial role. After all, he says, […]

Hongyou is a concurrent MS-MPP student in ERG and the Goldman School of Public Policy. She also works at the China Energy Group of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her research focuses on industrial energy assessments, industrial energy efficiency, low carbon policies, and introducing international best practices to China. Her previous work also include tool […]

The Economic Costs and Potential of Increased Water-Use Efficiency in California’s Residential Sector (’02 M.A.)

Adrienne works on climate change adaptation and mitigation in the public and private forests and wild lands of California. She is interested in understanding how the natural resources in these areas, particularly water, are affected by climate change. How can we manage our forests and wild lands in order to reduce both the magnitude of […]

Andrea graduated from UC Merced with a BS in Applied Mathematics on Engineering Mechanics and a minor in Writing. During her time at UCM, Andrea interned for UCM Facilities as a Building Efficiency Intern aiding in UCM’s goal to meet a Triple Zero Challenge of zero net energy, emissions, and waste by 2020. Since graduation, […]

Measuring California’s Energy Service Affordability (MS ’19) Christian is fascinated by energy end-uses’ effect on communities’ economic and political well-being. While his formal scientific background is in biorenewable resources, his focus is on the sustainable development of holistic energy solutions based on socioeconomic, geographic, and natural resource characteristics for communities both domestic and developing abroad. […]

Reducing Photovoltaic System Costs by Use of Energy-Efficient Appliances (’85 M.A.)

Erica’s niche is fire, particularly in the ecologically sensitive region of French Polynesia. She has already been trained as a physicist, but her curiosity draws her to ecology. ERG has become a unique place for Erica to explore her aspirations in the biological sciences alongside those who have successfully trekked through similar transitions. Read in her own words how Erica has fine-tuned her fascinations while at ERG.

Development and Tests of Two Null Theories of Ecological Communities: a Fractal Theory and a Dispersal Assembly Theory (’04 PhD)

Monkgogi (who goes by MK) was born and raised in Botswana and recently graduated cum laude with her BA from Scripps College in Environment, Economics, and Politics. Personally, MK has worked extensively with and for underrepresent students in higher education through numerous leadership roles, mentorships, and volunteering opportunities. Access to and visibility of underrepresented students […]

Demand-side Knowledge for Sustainable Decarbonization in Resource Constrained Environments: Applied Research at the Intersection of Behavior, Data-mining, and Technology (PhD ’18) Links: Personal Website Life at ERG Blog Posts ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Ph.D. 2017 During his time as an ERG Ph.D. candidate, Diego worked on developing information and communication solutions and ubiquitous data products for reducing […]

The Implications of Time-of-Use (TOU) Electricity Rates Upon California’s Grid Load, GHG Emissions, Costs, and Potential for the Electric Space Heating and PEV Market (MA ’14)

Microbial Communities in Confiers of Klamath National Forest (MS ’19) I’m a first years master’s student and received a B.S. & B.A. from UC Berkeley in Integrative Biology and Molecular Environmental Biology. Prior to coming to ERG, I worked on quantifying rates of nitrogen fixation by bacteria associated with conifer foliage in Western U.S. forests. […]

Environmental, Economic, and Social Trade-Offs of Hydropower Relicensing (MS ’16) Joseph is interested in the social, environmental, and economic trade-offs in energy development, and in particular the social conflicts arising around utility-scale wind farm siting and hydropower relicensing. His master’s research focuses on the relicensing of the Yuba River Development Project, a large hydropower project […]

Jess studies the impact of and adaptation to climate change on Latin America’s coasts. Currently, she travels on her 39-foot sailboat, Oleada, down the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America, through the Panama Canal, and into the Caribbean to document local climate knowledge through GIS mapping and personal narratives. You can follow her journey […]

John Romankiewicz is an MS/MPP candidate in the Energy & Resources Group and Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. He is the VP of Membership for the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative and a leader of the Cleanweb Berkeley community, through which he has organized clean energy hackathons on campus. Prior to grad […]

Creating a Smooth Pathway From Innovation to Commercialization within the California Public Interest Energy Research Program (’01 M.S.) Research Interests: Performance of policy and technical analyses to increase awareness of global warming in a solutions oriented campaign to reduce energy use in California. We are pressuring public entities to increase the use of energy efficiency, […]

Classes of Ecotoxicological Tests: Their Advantages and Disadvantages for Regulation (’81 MS)

The Impacts of Real-Time Selling and Net Metering on Life-Cycle Costs for Residential Fuel Cell Systems (’01 MS)

At ERG, I am exploring the barriers to renewable projects that are stalled or abandoned in emerging markets and potential solutions. By striving to answer that question, I hope to help move electricity sector development forward — especially in East Africa.

Decarbonizing Residential Space and Water Heating in California (PhD ’17) Imran Sheikh is interested in creating business-led solutions to environmental problems, with a particular focus on energy efficiency. His current research interests are around using smart meter and internet-connected thermostat data to better target energy efficiency investments. Prior to graduate school he was a consultant for […]

Alana Siegner received her B.A. from Tufts University in Environmental Science and International Relations, and served as an AmeriCorps National Teaching Fellow in Boston for two years after graduating from college. At ERG, she is a food systems and climate change education researcher, uniting her interests in education and environmental studies through sustainable food system […]

The world is witnessing a rapid advance in renewable energy with China as one in the forefront. However, adding enough renewable energy to satisfy China's growing power needs is quite complex. ERG Ph.D. candidate, Froy Sifuentes, focuses on the challenges of integrating wind power to help make China's grid cleaner. Read on and learn more about Froy and his work (and fun) at ERG.

Subsurface Controls on Carbon Dynamics in a Changing Arctic Ecosystem (PhD ’18) Terrestrial Biological Carbon Dioxide Removal: An Ecological Perspective (MS ’12) Lydia’s research takes her to the Alaskan Arctic, where she studies soil carbon turnover and greenhouse gas emissions. Her primary interests are mechanisms of soil carbon stabilization, soil microbes, and methane. She loves […]

Private Cost of Public Action: Costs to Western Coal Producers of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (’82 M.S.)

"In a sense, we’re going through a tran­si­tion here. The indus­try is going through a tran­si­tion that we’re only see­ing the begin­ning of,” says Dr. Cyrus Wadia (PhD’08). Cyrus knows about transitions. He has been a policy advocate, business entrepreneur and scientific innovator for clean energy and human welfare prior, throughout and since his time at ERG. He has not only observed but has been part of the change in the world’s switch to solar. His multiple hats and his work on the frontline edge of policy, economics and science made him a perfect fit for the interdisciplinary program at ERG.

M.S. 1986 – A Vehicular Power Plant Application of the Monolithic Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Ph.D. 1995 – Fan-Lizhi’s Big Bang: Science and Politics in Mao’s China ERG alumnus Jim Williams, now a professor at the University of San Francisco, is a global thought leader in the area of low-carbon energy systems. At USF his focus is on […]

Alternative Windpower Ownership Structures: Financing Terms and Project Costs (’96 MS) Public Goods and Private Interests: The Role of Voluntary Green Power Demand in Achieving Environmental Improvements (’02 PhD)

In the tradition of Barad and Haraway, I practice Science and Technology Studies (STS) “from the inside”, drawing on my own natural science training to inform the theoretical frameworks I develop. My interdisciplinary outlook is grounded in training, publication, and research in hydrology, aquatic ecology, and fluvial geomorphology, as well as in social science and […]