David Anthoff is an environmental economist who studies climate change and environmental policy. He co-develops the integrated assessment model FUND that is used widely in academic research and in policy analysis.

Dr. Callaway’s teaching focuses on power systems and energy efficiency. His research can be categorized in three areas: modeling and control of aggregated storage devices; power management; and system analysis of energy technologies and their impact.

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.

Daniel Kam­men is the Class of 1935 Dis­tin­guished Pro­fes­sor of Energy with appoint­ments in the Energy and Resources Group, The Gold­man School of Pub­lic Pol­icy, and the Depart­ment of Nuclear Engi­neer­ing at the Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­for­nia, Berke­ley.

Dr. Koshland’s research is at the intersection of energy, air pollution and environmental (human) health emphasizing mechanistic approaches as well as a systems perspective. It is conducted at multiple scales, from mechanistic analyses of combustion products in flow reactors to control strategies in urban airsheds to studies of human health.

Lara Kueppers is an Assistant 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.

The focus of my work is carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and trace-gas flux between soil and atmosphere. I conduct research on soil carbon, global change, and the impacts of human activities on ecosystem processes.

Kelsey is interested in how global economic and climate policies influence national environmental governance and impact vulnerable communities, particularly in developing economies and conflict environments. At ERG she looks forward to exploring interdisciplinary approaches to developing energy policies and project implementation that are rights-based and community-driven. Kelsey spent the last 10 years advocating on related […]

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 variety of disciplines to understand how people might interact with these new […]

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 […]

As a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellow, Ian develops tools to extract information from remote sensing imagery and climate data. He uses that information to drive improvements in forecasts of the impacts of climate change on water – both oceans and freshwater. In parallel to impact analysis work, Ian’s interests also span […]

Anna is an MS/PhD student at ERG. She is interested in enabling high-penetration renewable energy on the electricity grid while ensuring cost-effectiveness and preserving grid reliability. Previously, Anna was a SunShot Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office in Washington, DC. While at the SunShot Initiative, her […]

Bodie’s interests lie at the intersection of health, environment, and energy access. To date, Bodie has primarily focused on modernizing cooking in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. This work has taken him from rural villages building mud “chulhas” to high-tech cookstove manufacturing and testing facilities. Presently, he is working to understand the social, economic, […]

Jess Carney is interested in understanding how sustainable energy integration impacts power grids and electricity markets. She received her undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University in 2018, where she majored in Environmental Science and minored in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. She has held internships at the Independent System Operator or New England (ISO-NE), studying environmental […]

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. He brings together different disciplines – engineering, economics, political science, and […]

Jack Chang is interested in researching new strategies for communicating sustainability policy and science, as well as for improving renewable energy development and environmental governance in developing countries. He has worked as a journalist for two decades in California, Washington, D.C., Latin America and China, for companies such as The Associated Press, McClatchy and The […]

A native of Utah, Nick holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Westminster College in Salt Lake City. He has focused his career on real-time environmental monitoring, previous working at Oberlin College and Lucid on energy and resource monitoring. Prior to ERG, he lived in China, first as a Henry Luce Scholar in 2015 focused […]

John is interested in the geographic dimensions of environmental politics and policy. As an undergraduate researcher, he used geospatial tools to connect the environmental history of North Georgia to observed changes in land use. As a Masters candidate, his research explored the politics of distributed solar energy in conservative-leaning states. He is also very interested […]

Micah Elias earned his B.S. in International Agricultural Development from UC Davis in 2012. After graduating he worked with international development organizations and non-profits working to connect small farmers to markets and technical resources. Later, he served in Peace Corps Panama and worked as the National Coffee Coordinator where he trained volunteers and their community […]

Salma is an MS/PhD student. She is interested in energy systems and regional planning, including energy system modelling and energy infrastructure-related decision making and policy. Before coming to ERG, Salma was living and working in Edmonton, Canada, where she graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta and worked as an […]

Isa is a MS/PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group. She is interested in the impact of renewable energy on rural electrification, global development, and the domestic energy sector. Previously, Isa gained experience on both the technical and applied sides of renewable energy. She researched innovative energy materials at Duke University and the National […]

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 […]

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 studying electricity markets and renewable energy. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering and a […]

Anaya is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) at UC Berkeley. Prior to joining ERG, Anaya attended the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University where she earned a Master of Science in Agriculture, Food and Environment and a Certificate in Water Systems. As an InFEWS and DS421 […]

Cecilia is a MS/PhD stu­dent at ERG. Cecilia received her BS in envi­ron­men­tal sci­ence from Brown Uni­ver­sity. For sev­eral years, she worked in Wash­ing­ton, DC on inter­na­tional cli­mate, energy, and agri­cul­tural pol­icy at Cli­mate Advis­ers, a pol­i­tics and pol­icy firm. Cecilia is par­tic­u­larly inter­ested in energy-intensive commodities in Asia, and the economic, social, and political […]

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 the senior climate analyst at Project Drawdown. He […]

Through whatever I do, I want to help create a better society and a better environment. Though I’ve been involved in a variety of projects in the water and sanitation sector, I have recently published about my study on street-level bureaucracy of intermittent water supply in India (where I followed water valvemen around by foot and […]

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 terms of access within electricity services – investigating how policy, supply and infrastructure shape access and how access shapes vulnerabilities. Veronica’s work draws […]

Kripa earned a BS in Botany from the University of Delhi, and a Masters in Environmental Studies from TERI University. Since 2007 to 2012, she worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in their Climate Change and Sustainability division. There, she managed several Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Climate Change advisory assignments for international organizations, corporate clients, and […]

Stephen is an MS/PHD student at the Energy and Resources Group. He came to Berkeley after three years working for Ofgem, the UK’s energy regulator. Stephen is currently working on a project to create a dataset mapping global energy consumption at fine spatial scales. He is also interested in conducting research on wholesale electricity market […]

Seigi’s primary research focus is on the intersection of drinking water access, social justice, institutional capacity, and individual agency. He holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from UCLA (2011) and an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Tokyo (2014). In the past, Seigi was: a TEDx organizer in Japan; a graduate intern […]

At ERG, Jessica is focusing on learning advanced methods to comprehensively evaluate the ecological, economic, and societal impacts of development pathways in and beyond the energy sector. She joins ERG from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where she has led analysis projects to provide technical assistance to emerging economies as they transition to cleaner, advanced […]

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 […]

Catherine received a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College, with a minor in Environmental Studies. Prior to coming to ERG, she worked on issues related to U.S. energy policy and integrated assessment modeling at the Joint Global Change Research Institute. At ERG, she is interested in using statistical techniques to explore the impacts of climate […]

Jonathan studies transitions in electric power systems and electricity markets, specifically microgrids and distributed energy resources, the role of new technologies in grid planning, and the effects of the physical structure of power systems on social equity. He is interested in both industrial contexts and unelectrified rural areas, and has done electrification work in Nicaragua, […]

Michelle is a concurrent degree student at the Goldman School of Public Policy and the Energy Resources Group. Prior to graduate school, she worked in political, legal, and regulatory advocacy at the Natural Resources Defense Council and NextGen Climate America. Michelle is currently interested in the financial impacts of climate change, but also likes to […]

Jason is interested in optimization and control of distributed energy resources to support renewable energy integration into the electricity grid. He works at Lawrence Berkeley National lab researching wholesale electricity market integrated demand response and electric vehicles, particularly to provide fast reliability services. He graduated with from University of Michigan with an MS in Natural […]

Margaret is pursuing an MS/MPP with ERG and the Goldman Policy School. At Berkeley, she hopes to focus on demand flexibility (a key aspect of greening the power grid) and electric vehicles (the future of transportation), and ideally on how the two intersect. She is coming to Berkeley from Rocky Mountain Institute, where her interest […]

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. As well, Christian is interested in the […]

Laura is deeply passionate about reducing food waste. From digging through trash to looking inside of people’s refrigerators, Laura researches household-level food waste in the United States with a focus on measurement and behavior. Her research goes beyond the “what?” and “how much?” to understand why people waste food in households. Using both qualitative and […]

Sara is an architect who delved into distributed generation while developing fuel cell projects for Bloom Energy. She became interested in the energy industry in general, and specifically the regulatory and finance conditions that make markets more open to uptake of innovative technologies. While her focus is in energy, she is also interested in how […]

Adam returned to graduate school after nine years of legal practice specializing in environmental, energy, and natural resources litigation. His research interests – ranging across the environmental, energy, and natural resources sectors – include public policy analysis and development, public administration and management, environmental politics, regulatory development, and legal and environmental philosophy. Adam holds an […]

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 power plant electrician. After six years, he left the Navy to obtain […]

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 […]

Esther’s research centers around climate finance mechanisms and environmental justice at a global scale. She is also interested in integrated assessment models and the impact of climate change on the future landscape of the coffee and tea industries. Prior to beginning her graduate studies at UC Berkeley, she worked for the U.S. Department of Justice […]

Samira is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group and researcher at the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. Her research focuses on development for stateless people and migrants, most recently on energy access and the development priorities of UN agencies and NGOs in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. As a researcher at […]

Jesse is a student in the concurrent Master’s degree program at ERG and the Goldman School of Public Policy. His research focuses on the political economy of energy transition. He graduated from Brown University with a degree in Anthropology focused on Latin American Studies, and spent the next 7 years working as a labor and […]

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 […]

Elif is interested in the relationship between energy infrastructure and economic growth in developing countries. She holds a B.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University and an MSc in Environmental Economics from the London School of Economics, where she studied as a Fulbright fellow.   LinkedIn elif_tasar@berkeley.edu

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 Berkeley in 2011, and her undergraduate research focused on critical approaches to GIS technology […]

Valeri Vasquez is a PhD student with the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) and a Moore/Sloan Fellow at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS). Her research interests include the use of mathematical models to examine drivers of infectious diseases. Prior to graduate school, Valeri focused on international and domestic climate and energy issues at […]

Tzipora’s is interested in water resources and the role of technology in promoting sustainability, especially in the developing world. Prior to ERG, she worked as a process engineer at Cambrian Innovation Inc, a clean-tech wastewater treatment startup based in the Boston area, where she designed, developed, and deployed energy-positive wastewater treatment systems for the food […]

Peter is interested in investigating the market and regulatory barriers to technological solutions to renewable energy generation, net-zero buildings, and sustainable manufacturing. He is a research assistant at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab contributing to projects on electric grid load forecasting and commercial building demand response. Prior to studying at ERG he was an engineer […]

Marshall’s interests lie in environmental governance and ecology, in particular, the relationships among regulatory structure, conflict, and ecosystem outcomes. Before ERG, Marshall was the content manager for a Taipei-based startup working on the demand side of the energy efficiency and renewable transition equation. At ERG, he hopes to build on his background as a writer […]

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 the factors – political, economic, and social – that inform the translation of science into legislation. […]

Greater than the Sum of Their Parts? Political Impacts of State Climate Policies in the Face of Partisan Polarization (MA/MPP ’17) Dan completed concurrent degrees at the Goldman School of Public Policy and the Energy and Resources Group. He came to Berkeley after working for seven years in energy consulting at Tetra Tech and philanthropy […]

Taking the Man Out of Manufacturing: Drivers and Components of Industrial Sector Low-Carbon Transformation (PhD ’17) Nate Aden completed his PhD at the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley and is a Research Fellow with the World Resources Institute’s Climate and Energy Program. Nate’s research is focused on industrial energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in […]

Peter’s research focus areas are information technology approaches to energy development, understanding markets for demand-side energy technology, and energy technology policy. Outside of academics, he contributes to the Lighting Global program, which supports the market for modern off-grid lighting in the developing world. Peter’s work for Lighting Global includes technical and engineering support, policy development, […]

Energy and Materials Implications of Passive Solar Heating Technologies (77 M.S.) Conservation vs. Energy Supply: An Economic and Environmental Comparison of Alternatives for Space Conditioning of New Residences (87 Ph. D.)

Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles, Climate Change, and Energy Security:  The Cost-Effectiveness of an Emerging Technology (’07 MS)

Nkiruka has expertise in solar grid integration and climate policy in California, and in electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. She draws from engineering and urban planning disciplines to envision how the renewable energy transition could lead to equitable socio-technical systems. She also holds a master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from […]

Anne-Perrine is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group and a research fellow within the energy company Areva. In the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, her research focuses on long-term capacity expansion planning for the power sector in China, and quantitative methods to adjust least-cost energy transition pathways by taking forecast uncertainty into […]

Changing Strategies in Utility Regulation: The Case of Energy Conservation in California (87 PhD)

A Framework for Characterizing the Health Footprint of our Energy Choices (’11 MS)

The Road from Kyoto Begins in The Home: Energy Indicators for Households (00 MA)

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 […]

The Health and Safety Implications of Increased Coal Production and Utilization Under the 1978 National Energy Act: An Assessment Two Years After Passage (80 MS)

Energy Conservation Through Daylighting of Buildings (79 M.S.)

Energy Price Increases and Low-Income Americans (80 MA)

Renewable Energy Systems in Rural Eritrea – Concepts for Three Wind-Powered, Village-Scale, Clean Development Mechanism Projects (MA ’05) Building an International Administrative Law of Expertise: Law and Science in the International Regulation of Trade, Health and the Environment. (PhD ’13)  

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)

Energy and Economic Optimization of Conduction-Dominated Buildings (86 PhD)

Wind generation: A step towards energy independence on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua (MS ’08) Exploring the role of information in development policy and practice in the fields of rural electrification, climate change mitigation, and fishing economics on Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast (PhD ’12)

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, […]

Municipal Energy Production in California (85 MA)

Economic Assessment for the Donghan Village-scale Biomass Gasification Energy Supply System in China (03 MS)

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."

Measured Energy Savings and Economics of Retrofitting Existing Single-Family Homes: An Update of the Beca-B Database (91 MA)

Sustainable Finance for Sustainable Energy: Private Sector Solar Rural Electrification (MA 01)

Comparison of the Capabilities of the ORNL and CEC Residential Energy Consumption Forecasting Models (81 MS)

The Effect of Exterior Surface Absorptivity and Emissivity on Energy Use in Residential Buildings (81 MS)

Implementing Building Standards for Energy Efficiency: An Inter-Organizational View with Examples from Jamaica (91 MS)

California Building Energy Standards: A Local Perspective (81 MA)

Zubair is a Master’s student who researches water policy and management of international river basins, and is particularly focused on hydro-politics of the Indus basin. He has researched the relationship between water discharge and land use patterns in upper Jhelum watershed, international water agreements (especially the Indus Waters Treaty), and conflict over distribution of water […]

Appliance Standards Transplantation: Applicability of a United States-based Energy Efficiency Standards Model in Costa Rica (’01 M.A.)

India’s Low Carbon Electricity Futures (PhD ’17) Ranjit’s research efforts largely focus on addressing the clean energy and energy access challenges in developing nations. As part of both the International Energy Studies group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and ERG, Ranjit is developing models of the Indian national power system to analyze policies and […]

A Computable General Equilibrium Model of Energy in the California Economy (’84 Ph.D.)

The Industrial Ecology of Household Refrigerators: Product Life and the Demand for Materials and Energy (’99 MA) Public Policies, Private Choices: Consumer Desire and the Practice of Energy Efficiency (’08 PhD)

REDD Hot: How One Community Defends its Forest One Carbon Credit at a Time (MS ’14) Tanya was born and grew up in Bulgaria. She came to ERG after a career in Army medicine and an environmental science degree from University of London. For her masters project, she is interested in how environmental protection laws […]

Climate and energy policies; the science of climate change and the relationship between happiness and consumption.

Planning a Bioenergy Future: Understanding uncertainty in biomass resource assessment in China (MS ’08)

Economic, technological, and policy aspects of integrating renewable energy into existing electricity systems using innovative demand response strategies.

Lowering Energy Bills in American Indian Households: A Case Study of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (’98 M.A.)

Energy in a Developing Country: The Peruvian Case (’80 M.A.)

A Renewable Energy in Vehicles (REV) Mandate: Establishing a Zero Carbon Energy Standard for California Automobiles (MS ’08)

Transportation Energy Use in Bolivia: Environmental Implications, Policy Perspectives (MS ’96)

California Building Energy Standards: A Local Perspective (81 MA)

Enabling Investments in Energy Efficiency: A study of energy efficiency programs that reduce first-cost barriers in the residential sector (’09 MA)

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 […]

Dimitry currently works as a Program Manager on Facebook’s Global Impact Partnerships Team. Prior to Facebook, Dimitry was a graduate student at ERG where he worked on market assessment for off-grid energy in Kenya, microgrid finance in developing economies, and public-private partnership development for universal electrification in South Sudan. Overall, Dimitry has nearly a decade […]

Questioning Inevitability of Energy Pathways: Alternate Energy Scenarios for California (’02 MA) Public Service or Commodity Goods? Electricity Reforms, Access, and the Politics of Development in Tanzania (’08 PhD)

Renewable Energy Certificates and Project Development: A Case Study of the Rosebud Wind Turbine’s Success (’09 MS)

Residential Energy Demand Analysis: Theory and Practice (85 MA)

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 […]

Measuring Energy Efficiency: A Critique of the Energy-GNP Ratio (95 MA) Avant Le Deluge: An Investigation on Some Neglected Dimensions of Electricity Restructuring in California (’06 PhD)

Life of Sugar: Developing Lifecycle Methods to Evaluate the Energy and Environmental Impacts of Sugarcane Biofuels (PhD ’11)

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 current best practices for developing novel products, agnostic of geographic, […]

Energy Conservation Retrofits in Public Housing: An Analysis of Their Energy Savings and Cost-Effectiveness (85 MS)

Renewable Energy Technology Systems for Remote Area Electrification in Indonesia: A Critical Review of Technology Transfer (’00 M.A.) Power Games: The Political Use of Solar Technology in Northern Thailand (04 PhD)

Sasha Harris-Lovett is a PhD candidate in the Energy and Resources Group and a NSF Graduate Research Program Fellow. Her research focuses 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. Outside of school, she works […]

Gang’s research work focuses on energy mod­el­ing, energy eco­nom­ics, energy and cli­mate pol­icy, coal and power sec­tors and their key role in both the global energy sup­ply and in inter­na­tional cli­mate pol­icy frame­work. He also stud­ies the inter­dis­ci­pli­nary aspects of global cli­mate change and the devel­op­ment of lower-carbon energy sources. He was a research asso­ciate […]

Patricia graduated as an industrial and electrical engineer in 2012 from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). During her undergraduate studies she worked as a Linear Algebra teaching assistant for three years, performed research in Dr. Daniel Kammen’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL) at UC Berkeley working on the SWITCH model for the US. […]

Renewable Energy Landscape of Indigenous Nations in the United States, Canada, and Australia (MS ’12) Lindsay is from Teec Nos Pos, Arizona located on the Navajo Nation. She’s interested in developing renewable energy projects for economic development that adheres to core philosophies by a Nation. Lindsay’s research work includes effective regional electricity planning in the […]

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: ARNE JACOBSON Ph.D. 2004 Professor in the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering at Humboldt State University   From his post at Humboldt State University, Arne Jacobson passionately extends his PhD research addressing the real-world barriers to providing clean energy for poor people in developing countries.  In so doing, he plays a critical role […]

Worldwide Status of Energy Standards for Buildings (’93 M.S.) Building Change: Effects of Professional Culture and Organizational Context on Energy Efficiency Adoption in Buildings (’98 Ph.D.)

Energy Efficiency Codes for Commercial Buildings (’90 M.S.)

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 […]

China’s Carbon Challenge (MS ’07) Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China: Growth, Transition, and Institutional Change (PhD ’11)

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 […]

Can Energy Markets Work for Rural Development? An Analysis of World Bank/GEF Rural Electriciation Projects in Sri Lanka (’03 MA) Developments after a Disaster: The Tsunami, Poverty, Conflict and Reconstruction in Sri Lanka (’08 PhD)

Analysis of the Performance and Cost Effectiveness of Nine Small Wind Energy Conversion Systems Funded by the DOE Small Grants Program (’82 M.S.)

Continuous Demand Response: Using Loads to Manage Real-Time Energy Imbalance on the Electricity Grid (’11 MS)

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. […]

How Important is Modern Energy for Micro-Enterprises? Evidence from Rural Kenya (’06 MS) Expanding Access to Off-grid Rural Electrification in Africa: An Analysis of Community-based Micro-grids in Kenya (’09 PhD)

Noah is an MS/PhD student at ERG. After graduating with a BS in Environmental Science from UNC-Chapel Hill, Noah was a Fulbright Fellow at the Joint Graduate School for Energy and the Environment in Thailand researching technical and policy aspects of solar electricity and sustainability assessment. He has installed solar panels in Mexico and conducted […]

Energy policy wonk trying to craft and institute economically efficient policy to promote the use of renewable energy technologies and reduce our emissions.

A Simplified Spreadsheet Model for Assessing the Load and Energy Impacts of Demand-Side Programs for Selected Residential Appliances (’86 MS) Energy Efficiency Choices in New Office Buildings: An Investigation of Market Failures and Corrective Policies (’90 PhD)

Reduce, Reuse, Regulate: Repurposing the Clean Air Act to Limit Power Plants’ Carbon Emissions (MS ’14) Alison will graduate in Spring 2014 with an ERG M.S. and a J.D. from Berkeley Law. She’s interested in using legal tools to instigate the clean energy revolution, including novel applications of existing law (especially the Clean Air Act […]

Preliminary Report on an Inventory of Energy Conservation Potential in California: The Cement Industry (MS ’79)

Large Commercial Firm Investment in Energy-Efficient Buildings Retrofits (’97 M.S.)

Morgan Levy is a postdoctoral researcher currently investigating hydrological, climatological, and environmental determinants of disease in the Environmental Health Sciences Division of the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Morgan holds a PhD (2016) and M.S. (2012) in Energy and Resources, and a M.A. in Statistics (2013) from UC Berkeley. Morgan’s […]

What Is a Low-Energy House and Who Cares? (’94 M.S.)

Energy Use and Conservation in China’s Residential and Commercial Sectors: Patterns, Problems, and Prospects (’92 M.A.)

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 […]

Saving Energy with Information Technology: Tools for Affecting Human Behavior (’08 MS)

Minding Electron Leakage: How Utility Regulation Can Improve Upstream Energy Efficiency (MS ’14) Ben is a concurrent MS-MPP degree student in ERG and the Goldman School of Public Policy. His primary area of focus is the spread of technologies and policies that promote energy efficiency. Ben also works in Berkeley Lab’s Heat Island Group, which […]

Local Governments and Solar Energy: The San Francisco Example (’83 M.A.) Organizing for Rural Energy Development: Improved Cookstoves, Local Organizations, and the State in Gujarat, India (’90 Ph.D.)

A Rural Energy Survey and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Renewable Energy Technologies for a Philippine Island Community (’82 Ph.D.)

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT This ERG alumni spotlight features one of the first ERG graduate students, David Marcus (MA’77), and is written by ERG alumna, Sarita Sarvate (MS’78). The piece is the first of a series of stories on the achievements and journeys of alumni, showcasing their life after ERG. Small is Beautiful by Sarita Sarvate (MS’78) One summer […]

Peter Marsters is a Master’s candidate at ERG focusing on the environmental impacts of unconventional fossil fuel developments. He came to ERG from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado where he focused on water issues related to unconventional fossil fuel development. His previous experience includes several years at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s China […]

Wind-Generated Electric Power in the Soviet Union: Geographical and Technical Prospects (’91 MA) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Russia: Perspectives and Problems of International Technology Transfer and Investment (’95 Ph.D.)

Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier: Modeling of Electrolytic Hydrogen Production Systems (’04 MS)

Sustainable Energy Scenarios for Rural Mexico: An Integrated Evaluation Framework for Cooking Stoves (’90 M.S.) Socioeconomic and Environmental Implications of Fuelwood Use Dynamics and Fuel Switching in Rural Mexico (’95 PhD)

Electricity Load Management in Bolivia: Background and Prospects (’92 MS) Solar Adoption and Energy Consumption in the Residential Sector (’12 PhD)

En La Tierra de Los Gigantes: The Mexican Energy Monopolies and Their Impact on Electricity Privatization (’97 M.S.)

Supply Curves of Conserved Energy (’82 PhD)

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, […]

A High Technology-Low Energy Demand for Western Europe (’81 M.S.)

Residential Energy Use and Conservation in the United States (’82 M.A.)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions, System Flexibility Requirements, and Drivers of Storage Deployment in the Western North American Power System through 2050 (PhD ’14) Ana’s PhD research is in modeling electricity systems with high penetration levels of intermittent renewable energy to identify technological and policy alternatives for cost-effective emission reductions. While her work focuses on the […]

Wind Energy in Indian Country:  Turning to Wind for the Seventh Generation (MS ’06)

Overcoming Deterrents to Energy Conservation Investment in Public Housing (’87 MS)

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

Energy Needs in an Internet Economy: A Closer Look at Data Centers (’01 MS)

Biomass as an Energy Resource: An Economic and Environmental Investigation (’82 PhD)

Sustainable Energy Options for Kosovo – An Analysis of resource availability and cost (MS ’13)

Scenarios for Deep Carbon Emission Reductions from Electricity by 2050 in Western North America Using the SWITCH Electric Power Sector Planning Model (PhD ’14) Jimmy Nelson is a graduating Ph.D. student in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California at Berkeley and a Link Energy Fellow. His graduate work was performed in […]

Can Policy Stimulate Innovation in Low–Carbon Energy Technologies? The Case of Wind Power in California, 1975 through 2001 (04 MA) Policy and Innovation in Low-Carbon Energy Technologies (07 PhD)

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.

A Framework for Energy Policy Decisions in Less Developed Countries (’82 MA)

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 […]

State-Level Regulations Effectiveness in Addressing Global Climate Change and Promoting Solar Energy Deployment (PhD ’17)

Feasibility of Competition in a Developing Country Electricity Market: A Case Study of Maharashtra State (India) (’03 MS) Competition, regulation, and Energy Efficiency Options in the Electricy Sector: Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Countries (’06 PhD)

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 waste in cities of Latin America. “People at ERG looked like misfits. They seemed like people who could not be placed […]

Autumn Petros-Good received her B.S. in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College in 2009, and her M.S. from ERG in 2011 and her PhD from ERG in 2015. She worked on characterizing the potential for energy storage to change the electricity landscape, and has previously worked with the Nature Conservancy on investigating the relationship between large-scale […]

Global Environment and Energy End Use in China (’93 MS)

An Evaluation of the Triple Bottom Line Business Case For Reshoring Manufacturing (MS ’14) Emily Quesada received her B.A. in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. She subsequently served as Marketing and Graphic Design Manager at 3 Phases Energy, now known as 3Degrees. In that capacity, she helped businesses and utilities communicate their environmental […]

The Role of Renewable Energy in Global Warming Mitigation: A Critique of Trusted Assessments (’92 M.A.)

Berkeley Energy Market Analysis Phase I: The Demand for Energy Conservation and Renewables (’81 M.A.)

Energy Storage Systems to Support Increased Wind Penetration in California (05 MS)

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 […]

Can Co-ops become Energy Producers too? Challenges and Prospects for Efficient Co-Generation in India’s Co-Operative Sugar Sector (’05 MS) Fluid Hegemony: A Political Ecology of Water, Market Rule, and Insurgence at Bangalore’s Frontier (’10 PhD)

Point-of-Use Ultraviolet Water Disinfection: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Safe Water for Rural Households of Baja California Sur, Mexico (MS ’07) From Efficacy to Sustained Use. A Comprehensive Evaluation of an Ultraviolet Water Disinfection System for Rural Households in Mexico (PhD ’14)   Fermin Reygadas is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Fundacion Cantaro Azul, a non-profit organization […]

Disincentives for Energy Conservation in the Electric Energy Sector of Djibouti, East Africa (85 MS) Markets, States and Environmental Policy: The Political Economy of Charcoal in Senegal (’90 Ph.D.)

Some Thoughts on Innovation in Energy Technology (’82 M.S.)

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, […]

Formerly a freelance writer and founding director of the Vietnam Green Building Council (2007-2009), Jalel remains a board member and international coordinator for Green Cities Fund (its NGO parent).  In 2012 he co-founded the Southeast Asia – Renewable and Adaptive Energy (SEA-RAE) group at Berkeley.  At ERG he has designed a class on ecological economics; […]

Daniel L. Sanchez holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Energy and Resources. He is interested in quantitative analysis to inform public policy, focusing on bioenergy and climate policy. His past research focused on design, deployment, and commercialization of bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) technologies. Daniel has previously held positions with the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), Green for All, and the California Public Utilities Commission.

Exploring the Impacts of ASEAN Energy Cooperation on the Renewable Energy Development and Policy Implementation of the ASEAN Members (MS ’14)

Predicting the Impact of Transportation Control Measures on Pollutant Emissions and Energy Consumption (’93 M.S.)

The Potential of Wind Power and Energy Storage in California (’06 MS)

Landing on the Sun! How to Make Residential PV Price-Competitive in the U.S. with Lessons Learned in Germany (MS/MPP ’12) Socio-Economic and Engineering Assessments of Renewable Energy cost Reduction Potential (PhD ’17) Joachim (Jo) Seel completed his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group. His research focuses on electricity market design and on the integration […]

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 […]

An Empirical Assessment of the California Utilities’ Energy Efficiency Programs (’09 MS)

Rebekah Shirley believes that there is more than one path to a bright, energy secure future. Developing nations strive to connect more and more of their communities to energy. Many have emulated the fossil fuel intensive model of developed nations, but Rebekah believes that this is not necessarily the only way.

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.

Indoor Air Pollution in China (Compilation of a Database of Results of Research 1982-1991; with an Application to Residential Energy Supply Options in Shenyang, Liaoning Province) (’92 M.S.) Energy Efficiency in Chinese Industry: Positive and Negative Influences of Economic System Reforms (’96 Ph.D.)

Energy for the Development of Sierra Leone (’82 M.S.)

Ida Sognnaes is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group. She is originally from Norway and came to Berkeley for the first time as part of her five year MSc in Applied Mathematics and Physics where she focused on Renewable Energy and Climate Science. She wrote her Master thesis with John Harte in […]

The Water and Energy Nexus: Estimating Consumptive Water Use from Carbon Capture at Pulverized Coal Plants with a Case Study of the Upper Colorado River Basin (’10 MS)

The Renewable Robin Hood: How Taking from Natural Gas Producers and Giving to Energy Consumers Softens the Economic Impact of a Renewable Portfolio Standard (03 MA)

Data Center Energy Efficiency:  Granular Monitoring and Organizational Communication (’08 MS)

Legislative Incentives and Energy Technologies: Government’s Role in the Development of the California Wind Energy Industry (’87 M.A.) Regulating Innovation and Competition in Emerging Technology Markets: The Effects of Utility Participation in the Market for Remote Photovoltaic Systems (’96 Ph.D.)

Accuracy of Home Energy Rating Systems (’97 M.S.)

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Supply Curves for California’s Transportation Sector (MS ’08) Interactions of Water and Energy Mediate Responses of High Latitude Terrestrial Ecosystems to Climate Change (PhD ’12)

Michaelangelo Tabone (MS 2012) is a PhD student in ERG advised by Dr. Duncan Callaway. His research focuses on applying novel statistical methods to topics in energy analysis. Most recently, he completed a project for the CPUC predicting the flexibility needs of power systems that contain significantly large amounts of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. He […]

Energy and Society: Beyond the Bounds of Conventional Analysis (’88 PhD)

Monica obtained her Masters in 2015 from the Energy and Resources Group. She is interested in electric vehicle adoption, alternative energy policy, and sustainable energy development. Her research involves modeling the dollar value of grid services provided by electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging equipment infrastructure markets. Monica works part-time at the California Public Utilities […]

Appropriate Technology and Soft Energy as Perspectives on Technology – Society Interactions (’86 MA)

Turkey: A Perspective from the Energy Point of View (’88 M.S.)

Transfer of State-Owned Energy Resources in California (’87 M.A.)

Improved Cookstoves in Michoacán, México:  A Search for an Integrated Perspective that Promotes Local Culture, Health, and Sustainability (’04 MS) Missing Links:  Demystifying Alternative Energy Use and Improving Decision Making for Increased Off-grid Electrification in Colombia (’08 PhD)

"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.

The Zuni Sustainable Energy Project: Implementing a Photovoltaics Credit Program in a Traditional Economy (’01 M.A.)

Comparison of Constraints on Coal and Biomass Fuels Development in China’s Energy Future (’97 Ph.D.)

Case Study of Energy Efficient Building Retrofit: 40 West 20th Street–Headquarters of the Natural Resources Defense Council (’90 M.S.)

The Hands that will Build our Energy Future:  Administrative and Labor Capacity for Building Energy Efficiency Policies In China and India (MA ’11)

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: 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 […]

Government Policies and Programs for the Promotion of Residential Energy Conservation, An International Perspective (87 MS)

Maggie’s research focuses on reducing the environmental impacts of transportation by decreasing both the amount that people drive and the per-mile emissions of personal vehicles. Her work focuses on California’s ground-breaking laws to cut the greenhouse gas impacts of driving. Maggie holds an M.S. in Energy and Resources and a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College. […]

Impacts of Student-Led Service Learning Water Project in Rural Cameroon (MS’16) A graduate of Georgia Tech with a B.S in mechanical engineering. A selection of her work includes drilling water wells in Central America, designing solar systems for Yellowstone National Park, and water distribution systems in Cameroon. She began her work in fecal sludge as […]

Supply Curves of Conserved Energy for California’s Residential Sector (’80 M.S.)

Inspired by the possibility of ecologically-bounded growth, Grace is interested in water and land use impacts of energy technologies; water management that sustains agriculture, energy production, and biodiversity; and the role of policy analysis in decision-making. She is currently merging life cycle assessment, GIS, and optimization methods to anticipate non-GHG environmental impacts of electricity generation. […]

Urbanizing China:  Residential Energy Implications and the Role for Energy Efficiency Standards (MS, ’09)

Delivering Energy Efficiency to Middle Income Single Family Households (MA ’11)