The Energy and Resources Group trains interdisciplinary leaders and thinkers that are defining and solving the systemic, inextricably linked, social, environmental, and technological challenges facing the globe. ERG has built an unparalleled reputation for rigor and relevance through its unique interdisciplinary model. While ERG alumni share a common skillset in practical problem solving, their areas of substantive expertise and their employment interests are amazingly diverse.
Alumni
Alumni
Bret Harper
MS
Statistical Methods for Quantifying the Effect of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation on Wind Power in the Northern Great Plains (’07 MS)
Sasha Harris-Lovett
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Zeke Hausfather
PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Dianne Hawk
MA, PhD
Electric Transmission Service Provision: A Case Study of Southern California Edison Company (’91 M.A.) Disconnect: A Transaction Cost Analysis of California Electric Power Industry Restructuring (’99 Ph.D.)
- natural resources policy
- public utility industries
- regulatory reform and industry restructuring (esp. electric services industry)
- strategic and organizational development
- water supply reliability
Barbara Haya
MS, PhD
Evaluation of World Bank Public Participation Policies-Lessons for the Clean Development Mechanism (’02 MS) Carbon Offsetting: An Efficient Way to Reduce Emissions or to Avoid Reducing Emissions? An Investigation and Analysis of ... Continue Reading »
- equity within international efforts to mitigate climate change
- international finance institutions
- power sector restructuring in South East Asia
- the Clean Development Mechanism
Peter Hayes
MS, PhD
Atoms for the Poor: Nuclear Power in the Philippines (’80 M.S.) Non-Proliferation Regimes in Northeast Asia (’89 Ph.D.)
- environmental common security in Asia-Pacific region
- global greenhouse regimes
- Korean conflict resolution
- resource and environmental economics with specialization on the relationship between resource quality and economic growth
- strategic future of the Asia-Pacific region
Richard Hayes
MA, PhD
An Extension of Cline’s Global Warming Benefit-Cost Model (’96 M.A.) A Scenario of Economic Well-Being, Ecological Integrity and Social Equity for the 21st Century (04 PhD)
Gang He
PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- climate change
- coal and power
- economics
- energy
- energy and water
- Energy economics
- Energy modeling
- RAEL
- renewable integration
Garvin Heath
MS, PhD
(Re)Distributing Pollution: Exposure Implications for Distributed Electricity Generation in California (’02 MS) Redistributing Pollution: Exposure Implications of a Shift Toward Distributed Electricity Generation in California (’06 PhD)
- air quality engineering (ambient and indoor)
- environmental impacts of electricity generation (especially distributed generation)
- exposure assessment (especially intake fraction)
- green buildings
- sustainability
Hilary Henry
MA
Hilary is interested in developing innovative conservation tools for the lands and waters in the Western United States using applied science, policy, and community engagement. She graduated Duke University in ... Continue Reading »
Karen Herter
PhD
Effects of Critical Peak Pricing on Residential Electricity Use in California (’06 PhD)
- alternatives to fossil-fuels in energy production
- Distributed Generation
- energy efficiency and conservation
- human factors in energy supply and demand
Edgar Hertwich
MS, PhD
Science and Value Judgement in the Toxic Impact Evaluation of Products, Processes, and Companies (’96 M.S.) Toxic Equivalency: Addressing Human Health Effects in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (’99 Ph.D.)
Patricia Hidalgo-Gonzalez
MS, PhD
Learning and Control Systems for the Integration of Renewable Energy into Grids of the Future (PhD ’20) Patricia is a Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley co-advised by Daniel Kammen and ... Continue Reading »
- climate change
- EMAC
- energy
- Energy economics
- energy policy
- High integration of renewable energy in the system
- Hybrid Systems Laboratory at EECS
- long-term power systems planning
- RAEL
Jeff Hobson
MS
Science and the People: The Use of Technical Information about Air Pollution by Local Environmental Groups (’97 M.S.)
- community organizing and policy analysis for transportation justice
- environmental justice
- public transit
- transportation and land use planning
Lindsay Holiday
MS
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 ... Continue Reading »
- Appropriate renewable energy technologies for sustainable development
- climate change policy
- Distributed Generation
- energy policy
- quantifying cultural and social impacts of energy projects
- Regional Electricity Planning in the West
- self-suffiency for Tribal Nations in the US
- Tribal governance
- Tribal Utilities
Barry Holt
MS
A Design for the Suppression of Convection Heat Transfer in Windows: Theory, Models, Experiments, and Application Tradeoffs (’79 M.S.)
- competition in energy supply and services
- electric motor systems: promoting the systems approach in decision making
- energy efficiency in buildings
- federal technology development and deployment initiatives
- industrial energy use: efficiency/productivity/environmental performance
- utility industry restructuring: strategies for competition
Jennifer Holthaus
MA
The Importance of Cultural Understanding in International Organizations: A Comparative Study of the IBWC and the BECC (’98 M.A.)
- development theory and practice
- influence of US foreign policy on the environment in Latin America
- political ecology
- role of international aid
Nicole Hopper
MS
Getting Electricity Prices Right: The Importance of Real-Time Pricing Tariff Design (03 MS)
David Howarth
MA
US Electric Utility Industry Restructuring: Issues for Native American Tribes (’96 M.A.)
Erich Huffaker
MS
NOT ALL DR CREATED EQUAL: Assessing the Role of Backup Generation in Demand Response (MS ’12)
Nathan Hultman
MS, PhD
Inter-Annual Climate Variability and Carbon Uptake in a Young Forest Ecosystem (99 MS) Carbon Financial Risk in the International Greenhouse Gas Market (03 PhD)
- carbon and greenhouse gas markets
- climate change and developing countries
- international climate change policy
- regional interests: East Africa and Scandinavia
- risk and scientific uncertainty in policy
Christopher Hyun
MA, PhD
With 10+ years of international field experience, 5+ in water and sanitation, as well as project management and professional development in higher ed, I aim to create a better society and environment for all.
Jack Ihle
MS
Comparing the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Biomass, Wind, and Natural Gas Electricity Generation (’99 M.S.)
- industrial ecology
- large scale implementation of renewable energy technologies
- life cycle impacts of energy systems
Stacy Jackson
MS, PhD
Quick Wins for Climate: A Gas-Specific Framework for International Mitigation Policy (MS ’08) Nuances of Climate Change Mitigation: Four Different Goals and Approaches in the Climate Boxes Framework (PhD ’12)
- climate feedback effects
- climate science & policy: mitigation of near-term climate change
- measurability of emissions
Arne Jacobson
PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- energy use and environmental impacts
- international development
- regional energy planning
- renewable energy
- renewable energy on Native American Reservation lands
- social and economic costs and benefits of energy use
Veronica Jacome
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- critical geographies
- electric power systems
- EMAC
- energy
- RAEL
- resource greography
- rural energy access
- STS
- Sustainable energy integration
- Tanzania
- Water Group
Kripa Jagannathan
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- Adaptation
- Agriculture
- Carbon markets
- climate change
- climate-resilient planning
- co-production of knowledge
- science usability
- stakeholder engagement
- water
Oliver James
MPP, MS
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 ... Continue Reading »
Kathryn Janda
MS, PhD
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.)
- adoptation of environmental technologies - particularly in the building environment
- green building design & implementation
- sociotechnical factors in energy consumption & production
Stephen Jarvis
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Deborah Jensen
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Ling Jin
MS, PhD
Trade and the Choice of Environmental Law (’03 MS) A Seasonal Perspective on Regional Air Quality in Central California (’08 PhD)
- geographic information system and remote sensing and their application in environmental and resources issues
- sustainable development in developing countries
Kersten Johnson
MS
“FuelBelts”: Shelterbelts for Fuelwood Production on Small/Marginal Farms in India (87 M.S.)
Nathan Johnson
MS
A Hierarchical Concept of Industrial Ecology: Scale, Values and the Paper Industry (’98 M.S.)
Josiah Johnston
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- Design and invention
- Planning electric power systems
- Scientific computing
- Sustainable Community Development
Andrew Jones
MS, PhD
Biofuel Boundaries: Estimating the Medium-Term Supply Potential of Domestic Biofuels (MS ’07) Land use change is a critical influence on the climate effects of climate policies (PhD ’12)
- Agroecology
- biogeochemistry
- climate policy
- market-based policy
- mathematical models
- social and ecological impacts of biofuels including food security/energy security/climate/land use issues
- transportation
Christopher Jones
MS, PhD
Chris Jones is Director of the CoolClimate Network, a university-government-industry partnership at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lecturer at the Haas School of Business. His primary research interests are ... Continue Reading »
- behavioral psychology
- Carbon footprint analysis
- economics
- energy
- Environmental / Climate Equity
- Environmental Policy
- Environmental Psychology
- RAEL
- transportation
- urban planning
Evan Jones
MA
Financial Incentive Policies to Promote End-Use Solar Technologies in a Restructured Electricity Industry: Comparing the Costs (’97 M.A.)
- ecological economics
- political economy of development
- renewable energy policy and business development
- sustainable development
Robert Jourdain
MS
Some Limitations of the ‘Appropriate Technologies” for Peasant Agriculture (’78 M.S.)
Victoria Junquera
MS, PhD
Victoria became interested in food systems through her work on biofuels, first as an engineer at a biodiesel plant, and most recently at the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. Victoria received ... Continue Reading »
- civic engagement as a driver of transitions
- externalities
- Sustainable food systems
- tragedy of the commons
- valuing public goods
Fredrich Kahrl
MS, PhD
China’s Carbon Challenge (MS ’07) Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China: Growth, Transition, and Institutional Change (PhD ’11)
- bioenergy in East and Southeast Asia
- climate policy economics
- energy implications of economic transition
- rural energy economics and technologies in China
Margereta Kalka
MS
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potential of Residential Gardens and Climate Friendly Diet Choices (12 MS)
Fatumata Kamakate
MS
Assessing Diesel Particulate Matter Pollution in West Contra Costa County (’05, MS)
Sara Kamins
MS
A Comparative Analysis of Global Warming Policies for California’s Electricity Sector (06, MS)
Chalotorn Kansuntisukmongkol
PhD
Irreversibility and Learning in the Context of Global Climate Change (’04 PhD)
Anna Kantenbacher
MS, PhD
Environmental policy making; balancing short-term pressures with long-term needs; climate changes policies; economics; decision analysis; ecology.
- balancing short-term pressures with long-term needs
- climate changes policies
- decision analysis
- ecology
- economics
- Environmental policy making
Joseph Kantenbacher
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Kamal Kapadia
MA, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- energy planning
- multilateral aid programs in energy finance and development
- renewable energy and development
Forest Kaser
MS
Point-of-Use Ultraviolet Water Disinfection: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Safe Water for Rural Households of Baja California Sur, Mexico (’07 MS)
- climate change
- community development
- integrated pest management
- international development
- renewable energy
- sustainable agriculture
- traditional agriculture
Jeannie Katsigris
MS
Technology and Rural Industrialization Deep in China’s Hinterlands: A Study of Technology Transfer in Rural Industries in Qinghai Province’s Haidong Prefecture (’96 M.S.)
Joshua Kay
MS
Analysis of the Performance and Cost Effectiveness of Nine Small Wind Energy Conversion Systems Funded by the DOE Small Grants Program (’82 M.S.)
Taylor Keep
MS
Continuous Demand Response: Using Loads to Manage Real-Time Energy Imbalance on the Electricity Grid (’11 MS)
Dennis Kelso
PhD
Aquarian Transitions: Technological Change, Environmental Uncertainty, and Salmon Production on North America’s Pacific Coast (’00 Ph.D.)
- ecosystem function and management
- law and policy related to resources and environment
- policy issues in sustainable use of resources
Kevin Kennedy
PhD
Local Negotiations in Hazardous Waste Incinerator Permitting: A Comparison of Economic and Communication Models in Four Case Studies (’96 Ph.D.)
Amber Kerr
PhD
Drought resilience of maize-legume agroforestry systems in Malawi (PhD ’12) Amber Kerr is an agricultural ecologist focusing on climate change impacts and adaptation. She has studied nutrient cycling in California ... Continue Reading »
Marta Khrushch
MS
Carbon Emissions Embodied in Manufacturing Trade and International Freight of the Eleven OECD Countries (’96 MS)
Nancy Kiang
MS
The Urban Landscape and Personal Travel Behavior: Logit Analysis of Spatial Variables to Reduce Automobile Travel (’95 M.S.)
- astrobiology
- biogeochemistry
- biometeorology
- biosphere-atmosphere interactions
- climate change
- ecohydrology
- GCMs
- general circulation models
- land surface models
- land use
- modeling
- paleoclimate
- photosynthesis
- plant ecophysiology
- terrestrial ecosystem science
- transportation energy use
Laura King
MS
Ecological Consequences of the Cooling Requirements of Electrical Power Generation (MS ’77)
- aquatic ecosystem management
- Bay-Delta restoration
- California water policy
- endangered species and biodiversity
Ann Kinzig
PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Michael Kiparsky
MS, PhD
Science-Policy Interface in the Case of Climate Change and California Water Management (MS ’04) A Risk Analysis for Water Resources Under Climate Change, Population Growth and Land Use Change (PhD, ... Continue Reading »
- climate adaptation in water resources management
- governance and management of complex systems
- risk and decision making in water resources
- science/policy interface
Charles Kirubi
MS, PhD
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 Kittner
MS, PhD
Energy Systems Integration and Innovation for a Clean Energy Transition (PhD ’18) Noah is an MS/PhD student at ERG. After graduating with a BS in Environmental Science from UNC-Chapel Hill, ... Continue Reading »
- land-use change
- life-cycle assessment
- renewable energy policy
- solar energy
- sustainability
- Thailand
- urban planning
Jessie Knapstein
MPP, MS
Energy policy wonk trying to craft and institute economically efficient policy to promote the use of renewable energy technologies and reduce our emissions.
Jonathan Koomey
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- cost benefit analysis
- costs of reducing carbon emissions
- Energy Efficiency
- history of technology
- market imperfections
- marketing and program design
- policy impact analysis
- the effect of information technology on resource use
Alison Koppe
JD, MS
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 ... Continue Reading »
- administrative law
- Distributed Generation
- PURPA
- Renewable energy law and policy
- residential PV permitting
- shared solar
- the Clean Air Act
Laurie Koteen
PhD
A Comparison of Carbon Cycling in Native Perennial and Exotic Annual Grass Communities in Northern Coastal California (’09 PhD)
- biological invasion
- conservation biology
- global climate change science and policy
- North-South policy interactions
Jean Ku
MS
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for China: Multi-Lateral Recommendations and Local Initiatives: A Case Study of Automobile Pollution in Beijing (’00 M.S.)
Peter Kuhn
MS
Preliminary Report on an Inventory of Energy Conservation Potential in California: The Cement Industry (MS ’79)
Ronald Kukulka
MS
Industrial Cogeneration in the California Food Processing Industry: An Analysis of the Potential and Barriers (’77 M.S.)
Susan Kulakowski
MS
Large Commercial Firm Investment in Energy-Efficient Buildings Retrofits (’97 M.S.)
- energy efficiency and its relationship to human culture and behavior
- policy and practice of energy-efficient building design/construction/operation
Veronica Kun
MA
A Review of EPA’s Evaluation of the Environmental Impacts of New Source Performance Standards for Fossil Fuel Power Plants (’78 M.A.)
Renee Kuriyan Wittemyer
MA, PhD
"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.
- information and communication technologies and development
- rural development in India
- technology adoption in developing countries
- technology/society relationships
Dannette Lambert
MA
Political Opportunities and Framing Processes in Resistance to Uranium Mining: The Joar Case (’08 MA)
- environmental justice
- scientific understanding of environmental problems
- the study of social and behavioral issues
Micah Lang
MA
Point-of-Use Ultraviolet Water Disinfections: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Safe Water for Rural Households of Baja California Sur, Mexico (’07 MA)
- Africa
- cultural connections to natural resource use
- development and natural resource policy in rural areas
- South America
- water
- watershed management
Daniel Lashof
MS, PhD
The Global Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric Oxygen (’83 M.S.) The Role of the Biosphere in the Global Carbon Cycle: Evaluation Through Biospheric Modeling and Atmospheric Measurement (’87 Ph.D.)
Catherine Ledna
MS, PhD
Modeling Adaption to Sea Level Rise Under Uncertainty (MS ’19) Catherine received a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College, with a minor in Environmental Studies. Prior to coming to ERG, ... Continue Reading »
Tai-Yong Lee
MA
Implications of Electricity Pricing Based on Marginal Cost: The Case of Korea (’88 M.A.)
- community-level energy supply systems
- microeconomic analysis of energy policy
- social and political aspects of energy problems: toward sustainable development
Sharad Lele
PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- alternative models of sustainable development
- analysis of energy use
- biomass resources and biodiversity
- forest ecosystem services
- resource economics
- socio-environmental factors affecting forests
- systems analysis of surface water resource systems
- watershed development
Derek Lemoine
MS, PhD
Greenhouse Gas Property – Introducing an Adaptable Climate Policy for an Uncertain World (MS ’07) Characterizing & Responding to Uncertainty in Climate Change (PhD ’11)
- economics
- energy markets
- energy networks
- GIS
- land use
- novel policy responses to climate change
- option value
- policy
- renewables
- uncertainty
Jessica Levine
MS
Adaptive Management of Riparian Systems: Lessons Learned and Implications for Small Scale Efforts (MS ’05)
- collaborative planning
- communication of environmental information
- environmental justice
- environmental planning
- sustainability and environmental indicators
- watershed and water resources management
Michelle Levinson
MA, MPP
Harnessing Financial Motivation to Drive Transportation Electrification: a Resource for Electric Utility Regulators (MA ’19) Michelle is a concurrent degree student at the Goldman School of Public Policy and the ... Continue Reading »
- climate change
- economics
- energy
- Policy analysis
- project development and project finance
- transportation
- utility regulation and finance
Morgan Levy
MS, PhD
Morgan’s research focuses on hydrology and water resources, the effects of land use and climate change on human health and the environment, human-environmental system dynamics, and environmental data science. Her ... Continue Reading »
- Agriculture
- climate
- climate change
- climate change adaptation
- eco-hydrology
- environmental data science
- environmental health science
- geographic information systems
- hydroclimatology
- hydrology
- irrigation
- water
- water resources management
Joanna Lewis
MA, PhD
Introducing a Mandatory Market Share for Renewable Electricity Generation in China: Design Considerations and Market Implications (MA ’01) From Technology Transfer to Local Manufacturing: China’s Emergence in the Global Wind ... Continue Reading »
- energy policy in China
- international climate change policy
- low-carbon technology transfer
- renewable industry development