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
Gregory Morris
PhD
Biomass as an Energy Resource: An Economic and Environmental Investigation (’82 PhD)
- biomass and renewable energy systems
- energy in LDCs
- energy planning models and applications
- energy project development
- energy system risk analysis
Edward Moses Mbewe
MS
Edward Moses Mbewe is a Master’s student at the Energy and Resources Group. Mbewe interests includes identifying, critically reviewing, and publishing on sustainable and environmental developments in energy. Mbewe’s goal ... Continue Reading »
Bessma Mourad
MS
From Environmental Security to Peacemaking: A Case Study of the Nile River Basin (’10 MS)
- development
- Environmental health
- environmental justice
- freshwater resoures
- Middle East
- politicization of water
- water pollution
- women's health
Maryam Mozafari
MS
Sustainable Energy Options for Kosovo – An Analysis of resource availability and cost (MS ’13)
Sara Mulhauser
MPP, MS
Battery Energy Storage Technology Adoption & Electric Utility Structure (MS ’19) Sara is an architect who delved into distributed generation while developing fuel cell projects for Bloom Energy. She became ... Continue Reading »
Sara Murillo
MS
Sara is an MS student with a passion for advancing energy justice. She is interested in developing synergies between quantitative and qualitative methods to understand how energy solutions can meet ... Continue Reading »
Ashley Muspratt
MS, PhD
Health, Hygiene and Safe Drinking Water: A Process Documentation of an Education and Technology Intervention in the Behram Slum, Mumbai, India (06 MS) “Don’t Think of ‘Waste’ Water”: Evaluation and ... Continue Reading »
- sustainability indicators and the convergence of environmental with social and cultural sustainability
- water and sanitation in developing countries with a particular focus on China and other parts of Asia
Linda Nash
MS
Contaminated Sediments and Dredging in San Francisco Bay: Assessing and Managing Ecological Impacts (’89 M.S.) Deceased
James Nelson
PhD
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. ... Continue Reading »
Gregory Nemet
MA, PhD
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)
- carbon/hydrogen transition
- climate change
- Distributed Generation
- energy R&D
- G.I.S.
- scenario planning
- technology policy
Erica Newman
MS, 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.
- anthropogenic impacts on fire regimes
- California chaparral
- climate change and biodiversity interactions
- Fire ecology and natural disturbance
- French Polynesia cloud forests and wet montane forests
- macroecology
Leah Nichols
MA, PhD
Genes, Information, & Property (MA ’02) Academic Cartography Understanding the Directions of Modern Biological Science (’07 PhD)
Zachary Norwood
PhD
A Better Steam Engine: Designing a Distributed Concentrating Solar Combined Heat and Power System (’11 PhD)
- biofuel emissions
- distributed concentrating solar combined heat and power
- renewable energy vehicle conversions
- rural electrification
- urban waste to fuel
Dara O’Rourke
MS, PhD
State, Industry, and the Environment in Vietnam: Obstacles and Opportunities for Industrial Development (’95 M.S.) Community-Driven Regulation: The Political Economy of Pollution in Vietnam (’99 Ph.D.)
- cleaner manufacturing processes
- corporate accountability
- environmental justice
- industrial development in developing countries
- political economy of development
- pollution prevention
- preventative environmental strategies/policies
Hazel Onsrud
MS
Reducing GHG Emissions through Municipal Action: Designing a Decision Support Tool for Californian Communities (’11 MS)
Adam Orford
MA, MPP, PhD
Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Assessment in California’s Electric Power Sector (MA ’18) Adam Orford is a Ph.D. candidate at U.C. Berkeley’s Energy & Resources Group (ERG). He is currently ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- energy
- Institutions
- law
- Political Science
- Politics
- Public Administration
- public policy
- regulation
- transportation
Tracey Osborne
PhD
Carbon Capital: The Political Ecology of Carbon Forestry and Development in Chiapas, Mexico (’10 PhD)
- agrarian political economy
- carbon forestry activities
- Carbon markets
- development studies
- Mexico
- political ecology
Molly Oshun
MS
Putting biodiversity on the map: exploring spatial dimensions of California biodiversity for conservation planning (MS ’22) Molly studies California watersheds. Her research investigates strategies to improve forest health, protect biodiversity, ... Continue Reading »
Annette Ostling
PhD
Development and Tests of Two Null Theories of Ecological Communities: a Fractal Theory and a Dispersal Assembly Theory (’04 PhD)
Monkgogi Otlhogile
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 ... Continue Reading »
Zora Ott
MA
Zora is a MA graduate in 2024 from the Energy and Resources Group. She is interested in political ecology, climate-resilient development, deliberative processes, energy and climate justice, rural development and ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- Climate justice
- development
- energy
- Environmental / Climate Equity
- gender
- governance
- participation
- rural areas
- transition pathways
- transportation
Gwen Ottinger
MA, PhD
Education, Public Issues, and Everyday Relevance: Making the Links in the Development of a Middle School Life Science Curriculum (99 MA) Grounds for Action: Community and Science in Environmental Justice ... Continue Reading »
Kwabena Owusu Sarfo
MS
Kwabena Owusu Sarfo is a Master’s student at the Energy and Resources Group. Kwabena interests includes, energy system modeling and analysis, decarbonizing electric power grids, and renewable energy integration research. ... Continue Reading »
Thomas Panella
MS
Irrigation reform in the Philippines: Irrigation management transfer and the vicious cycle of irrigation management (’04 MS)
- agricultural policy and reform
- environmental flows
- integrated water resources management
- international development
- irrigation management transfer
- irrigation policy and reform
- River Basin Management
- water users associations
Susan Pantell
MA, PhD
Uncertainties in Cost-Benefit Analysis of Chlorofluorocarbon Use (’85 M.A.) Toxic Groundwater Pollution:Understanding the Politics and Organizational Process of Regulatory Response (’92 PhD)
William Pease
MS
Environmental Pollution and Cancer in California: Evaluating the Significance of Risks under Proposition 65 (’88 M.S.)
Carla Peterman
PhD
State-Level Regulations Effectiveness in Addressing Global Climate Change and Promoting Solar Energy Deployment (PhD ’17)
Amol Phadke
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Phillippe Phanivong
MS
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 ... Continue Reading »
Karen Plaut
MS
A Comparison of Measured and Calculated Evapotranspiration in a Sub-Alpine Meadow Ecosystem (’95 M.S.)
Richard Plevin
MS, PhD
California Policy Should Distinguish Biofuels by Differential Global Warming Effects (’06 MS) Life Cycle Regulation of Transportation Fuels: Uncertainty and its Policy Implications (’10 PhD)
- climate change and renewable energy - particularly biofuels
- modeling
- organic agriculture and mitigating environmental harm from bioenergy crop production
- whole-systems thinking
Diego Ponce de Leon Barido
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Sasha Ponomareva
MS
Alternative Futures for Composting in California (MS ’22) Sasha earned her B.A. in Environmental Analysis with a minor in Spanish from Pomona College in 2014. After this she worked for ... Continue Reading »
James Porter
MS
Responses to Environmental Injustice in the Siting of Hazardous Waste Facilities: Public Participation and Legal Strategies (’92 M.S.)
- environmental justice issues
- renewable energy and international development
- renewable energy technology - especially solar
- the role of people of color in the environmental movement
Wayne Praskins
MA
Groundwater Contamination in Santa Clara Valley: Protecting Public Health in the Face of Technical Uncertainty (’86 M.A.)
Autumn Preskill
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- energy distribution & management policy
- mathematical programming approaches to energy problems
- Renewable energy usage
William Prudham
PhD
Knock on Wood: Nature and the Fictitious Commodity in Oregon’s Douglas-Fir Region (’99 Ph.D.)
- environmental regulation
- forest industry and policy
- political economy of environment
- social theory and nature
Simone Pulver
MA
Going Green Bites Back: The Intended and Unintended Consequences of the New Corporate Environmentalism (’98 M.A.)
- environment and development
- firm environmental decision-making
- International climate change politics
- organization behavior
- social movements
- social theory
Ross Pumfrey
MA
Recycling as an Alternative to Disposal: A Study of Waste Paper Recovery in the Commercial Sector in San Francisco (’83 M.A.)
David Puzey
MA
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)
Emily Quesada
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 ... Continue Reading »
- appropriate technology
- international development
- local manufacturing
- product development
- sustainable manufacturing
Dianne Quiroz
MS
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 ... Continue Reading »
Nancy Rader
MA
The Role of Renewable Energy in Global Warming Mitigation: A Critique of Trusted Assessments (’92 M.A.)
- California RPS implementation
- renewable energy policy
- Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
- wind energy system integration
Jessica Radolf
MA
Berkeley Energy Market Analysis Phase I: The Demand for Energy Conservation and Renewables (’81 M.A.)
Joseph Rand
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 ... Continue Reading »
Malini Ranganathan
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- climate change and energy policy in developing countries
- energy and resource efficiency
- equity
- governance
- politics of development and International aid
- reforms
- urban sustainability
Reem Rayef
MA, MPP
Reem is a concurrent MPP/ERG student at UC Berkeley. She is broadly interested in leveraging energy policy toward the decarbonization of transportation and transit systems in urban settings. Previously, Reem ... Continue Reading »
Jessica Reilly
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- climate adaptation
- coastal resilience
- GIS
- international development
- narratives as science
- renewable energy mapping
- rural resources
- Science communication
- visual media
Jenny Rempel
MS, PhD
Surfacing Overlying Rights: Assessing Transitions in Overlying Rights to California’s Groundwater Basins (MS ’20) Jenny grew up in Fresno, California, and graduated from Stanford University with an interdisciplinary environmental science ... Continue Reading »
Andrew Remus
MS
The Distribution of Prime Farmland in the Periphery of Urban Areas in the San Joaquin Valley: Implications for Regional Planning (’91 M.S.)
- finding good calzone
- groundwater modelling
- international nuclear issues and nuclear repository design
- nuclear nonproliferation issues
- nuclear power generation
- nuclear waste treatment/storage/disposal
- pebble bed modular nuclear reactor developments
Victor Reyes
MS
Hola! I’m Victor Reyes, a Mexican MS candidate. I have a BS/BA in Engineering with a concentration on Sustainability from the University of San Diego. My main interests are electric ... Continue Reading »
Fermin Reygadas
MS, 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 ... Continue Reading »
Jesse Ribot
MS, PhD
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.)
Sarah Richmond
MS
Post-fire channel response: A comparison between the 1977 Marble Cone Fire and 2008 Basin Complex Fire on the upper Carmel River (’09 MS)
John Romankiewicz
MPP, MS
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 ... Continue Reading »
Carina Romero
MS
Private Sector Participation in the Global Water Sector: An Analysis of Stakeholder Perspectives and an Assessment of Rules and Guidelines: Governance Issues and the Regulatory Authority (04 MS)
- carbon sequestration and forestry projects
- forestry management and conservation
- project design and evaluation
John Ross
MS
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 ... Continue Reading »
Yang Ruan
MA, MPP
Yang is in the concurrent degree program with ERG and the Goldman School of Public Policy. Her background is in electrical engineering and worked for several years in the power ... Continue Reading »
- carbon footprint of finance
- energy and environmental information technology
- long term decision making processes
- social and environmental entrepreneurship
- Socially responsible investing
Ronald Rudolph
MA
Western Coal Exports to the Pacific Rim Countries of Japan, Taiwan and Korea (’82 M.A.)
Alejandra Rueda
MA
Deforestation from Coca Plantations and REDD+: Can REDD+ change the dynamics of coca plantations and become the new peaceful strategy to overcome “The war on drugs” in Columbia? (’10 MA)
Jalel Sager
MA, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Jürgen Salay
MA
Regulation of the Polish Power Industry and Sulfur Dioxide Emissions, 1988-1992 (’94 M.A.)
- air pollution control and restructuring of the electricity industry in Eastern Europe
- economic history of Eastern Europe
- history of comics
- implementation of energy and environmental policies
Scott Saleska
PhD
Global Climate Change and Ecosystem Carbon Storage: An Experimental Investigation of Ecologically-Mediated Feedbacks to Climate in Montane Meadows (’98 Ph.D.)
- ecology of environmental systems (eg. global climate)
- environmental impact of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons production
- how to implement and practice "public interest science"
- modeling life-cycle environmental impacts of human activities
- social justice and environmental sustainability
Daniel Sanchez
MS, PhD
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.
Chuenchom Sangarasri
MA
Privatization of Thailand’s Power Sector: From Public Monopoly to Competition (MA, 99)
- decentralized decision-making
- privatization of electric generating authority of Thailand
- regulation and consumer's interest
Chayaporn Sangchote
MS
Exploring the Impacts of ASEAN Energy Cooperation on the Renewable Energy Development and Policy Implementation of the ASEAN Members (MS ’14)
Agus Sari
MA
Leaking Carbon: Calculating Carbon Dioxide Emissions Leakage in the Era of Global Trade Liberalization: A Case Study of Indonesia (’96 MA)
Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
MS
Dynamic Simulation of the Tritium Inventory in the Magnetic Fusion Power Plant (’90 M.S.)
- application of complexity theory on industrial ecology issues
- environmental implications of tritium production
- industrial ecology
- interaction between technology and society - with respect to energy and development issues
- interface between energy/economy/current engineering/other relevant problems
Deborah Schechter
MS
Predicting the Impact of Transportation Control Measures on Pollutant Emissions and Energy Consumption (’93 M.S.)
Laura Schewel
MA, PhD
Shop ‘Till We Drop: A Historical and Policy Analysis of Goods Movement in the U.S. (MS ’11) Transportation Behavioral Data and Climate Change (PhD ’20) Laura studies the environmental impacts ... Continue Reading »
Katrina Schneider
MS
An Assessment of Hydrologic and Geomorphologic Alteration on the Lower Stanislaus River (00, MS)
- economic incentives associated with California water policy and floodplain management
- flood management
- restoring natural river processes
- river gravel mining
- river hydrology and fluvial geomorphology
Marcus Schneider
MS
Little Fish in a Big Pond: Small Customers in Competitive Electricity Markets (’98 M.S.)
Richard Schneider
MS
Classes of Ecotoxicological Tests: Their Advantages and Disadvantages for Regulation (’81 MS)
Astrid Scholz
PhD
Green Gold: The Science, Politics and Business of Harnessing the World’s Biological Riches for Novel Pharmaceuticals (’01 PhD)
- community-based resource management and rural development
- conservation economy
- ecosystem services values and markets
- marine conservation planning/GIS
- progressive economics
- social networking technologies
- spatially integrated social science
M. Beth Schwehr
MS
Quantitative Health-Risk Assessment of Indoor Air Pollutants: A Comprehensive Framework for Analysis, and Application to Radon-222 (’85 M.S.)
- air pollution and air toxics
- emission inventory
- exposure and risk assessment
- indoor air pollution
- multi-media pollution
- solar cookers
- state air toxics regulation
Joachim Seel
MPP, MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- electricity market design
- market integration of intermittent renewable electricity
- Renewable energy markets and policy
- technology learning