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
Sharon Selvaggio
MS
Charcoal from Fuelwood Plantations in Brazil’s Eastern Amazon Region: A Feasibility Study (’91 M.S.)
- deforestation issues - particularly in the Amazon and the Pacific Northwest
- development issues in third world countries
- tropical ecosystems
- wildlife and aquatic ecology
Jonathan Servaites
MS
The Impacts of Real-Time Selling and Net Metering on Life-Cycle Costs for Residential Fuel Cell Systems (’01 MS)
- distributed generation technologies/market barriers/economics
- policies to foster growth for renewables
- renewable power systems
- stationary and automotive fuel cells
Rachman Setiawan
MS
Rachman Setiawan is a Master’s student for the Energy and Resources Group, focusing on energy sectors. He worked as an engineer in a Solar PV company where He conducted surveys, ... Continue Reading »
Sharada Prasad Chitradurga Srinivasa Murthy
MS, PhD
When the Pit Fills Up: Fecal Sludge “Management” in Urban India (PhD ’18) Sharada’s research is focused on recovery of nutrients, primarily Phosphorous, from human waste, particularly septage, and their ... Continue Reading »
- development
- GIS
- human waste
- human waste treatment technologies
- microbial heath risk assessment
- nutrient recovery and reuse
- photography
- sanitation
- south asia
- Subaltern Studies
- water
- Water Group
Britt Shaw
MS
At ERG, I am exploring the barriers to renewable projects that are stalled or abandoned in emerging markets and potential solutions. By striving to answer that question, I hope to help move electricity sector development forward — especially in East Africa.
- Africa
- development
- economics
- Emerging Markets
- energy
- Energy Access
- Off-Grid Power
- renewable energy integration
- water
- water-energy nexus
M. Rebecca Shaw
PhD
Ecosystem and Plant Community Consequences of Climate Warming in a High-Altitude Meadow (’97 PhD)
Esther Shears
MPP, MS, PhD
Dr. Esther Shears recently started a position as the Deputy Chief Economist at the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight in the California Energy Commission. She earned her PhD from the ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- economics
- environmental justice
- integrated assessment modeling
- international political economy
- SEEL Lab
- sustainable finance
Imran Sheikh
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
Karin Shen
MS, PhD
A Microclimate Model to Investigate Greenhouse Warming of a Sub-Alpine Ecosystem (MS, ’92) A Modeling Study of Experimental Warming of a Sub-Alpine Meadow (PhD, ’98)
Michael Shepard
MS
Straw into Gold: The Promise of Anaerobic Digesters on California Dairy Farms (’85 MS)
Emma Shepherdson
MS
Understanding feed’s climate impacts on beef production through the lens of three different beef production systems in the United States (MS, ’12)
- climate change
- food distribution
- social and corporate change via non-profit or government organizations
- sustainability
Luke Sherman
MPP, MS
Increasing the spatial resolution of the Human Development Index using satellite imagery (MS ’22) Luke’s research aims to encourage the use of innovative technology and management systems in order to ... Continue Reading »
Suzie Shin
MS
An Empirical Assessment of the California Utilities’ Energy Efficiency Programs (’09 MS)
Rebekah Shirley
MS, PhD
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.
Lynn Shiyayo
MS
Lynn is a MS student and researcher in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research lies at the intersection of transportation, climate, and equity ... Continue Reading »
- Air Pollution Modelling
- climate
- development
- ecology / environmental science
- economics
- energy
- Environmental / Climate Equity
- transportation
- transportation and land use planning
- urban planning
Anne Short
MS, PhD
Understanding Urban Food Access (’05 MS) Governing Change: An Institutional Geography of Rural Land Use, Environmental Management, and Change in the North Coastal Basin of California (’10 PhD)
- environmental governanace
- land management and conservation planning
- rural land use change
- science and policy
- water quality
Leslie Shown
MA
The Impacts of Deforestation upon Rural Women in Developing Countries: Patterns of Concern in Recent Development Literature (’93 M.A.)
Samira Siddique
MS, PhD
Development for the Stateless: the Displacement-Development Nexus and Implications for the Future (MS ’19) Samira Siddique is a PhD candidate and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Energy ... Continue Reading »
- Climate change justice
- critical development studies
- Cultural memory
- Displacement infrastructure
- Forced migration and refugee studies
- Postcolonial theory
Alana Siegner
MA, PhD
Growing Environmental Literacy: On Small-Scale Farms, in the Urban Agroecosystem, and in School Garden Classrooms (PhD ’20) Alana Siegner graduated from Tufts University in 2012 with a double major in ... Continue Reading »
Alana Siegner
MA, PhD
Alana Siegner received her B.A. from Tufts University in Environmental Science and International Relations, and served as an AmeriCorps National Teaching Fellow in Boston for two years after graduating from ... Continue Reading »
- climate change education
- environmental education
- Food Justice
- Sustainable food systems
- urban agroecology
Froy Sifuentes
MS, PhD
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.
Thomas Sikor
MA, PhD
Participatory Methods in Rural Development: ‘Bottom-Up’ or only ‘Close-To’ Development? (’94 M.A.) The Political Economy of Decollectivization: A Study of Differentiation in and Among Black Thai Villages Of Northern Vietnam ... Continue Reading »
Jelena Simjanovic
MA
Mind the Gap. Public-Private Financing Mechanisms for Bridging Valleys of Death and Accelerating Transition to a Clean Economy (MA, ’10)
- carbon markets and finance
- domestic climate policy development
- Energy Efficiency
- international climate policy negotiation
- offset project development
Tania Simoncelli
MS
ACG and INBio: Diverging Approaches to Saving, Knowing and Using Costa Rica’s Biodiversity (’99 MS)
- biodiversity conservation and development
- international environmental and health politics and policy
- social and ethical implications of human and agricultural biotechnology applications
Michelle Sims
MS
At ERG, Michelle is interested in environmental and equity challenges within global food systems. In particular, her research focuses on the dynamics of land use change in agricultural landscapes in ... Continue Reading »
Jonathan Sinton
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- China
- energy efficiency policy
- energy-related urban and indoor air pollution
- response of developing countries to climate change
Adam Smith
PhD
Facets of Biological Conservation: Appropriate Ecology, Policy, and Ethics for Ensuring the Perpetuity of Biodiversity (’09 PhD)
- incentivization of conservation at the international level
- spatial patterns of species diversity
- teaching
Lydia Smith
MS, PhD
Subsurface Controls on Carbon Dynamics in a Changing Arctic Ecosystem (PhD ’18) Terrestrial Biological Carbon Dioxide Removal: An Ecological Perspective (MS ’12) Lydia’s research takes her to the Alaskan Arctic, ... Continue Reading »
Ida Sognnaes
MA
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 ... Continue Reading »
- Dynamical systems of energy and resources
- ecological economics
- Human-Natural Complex Networks
- Science and Technology Studies
Anna Sommer
MS
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)
Chelsi Sparti
MS
Chelsi belongs to the Winnemem, Nomtipom, and Nomsus bands of the Northern Wintu people, and is of European settler descent. She carries out collaborative research with Puerto Rican residents to ... Continue Reading »
- climate resilience
- decarbonization
- Disaster Recovery
- energy
- environmental justice
- governance
- policy
- Risk Mitigation
Timothy Springer
MA
Definitions for Recycling and Methods of Measuring Recycling in Santa Clara County, California (’88 M.A.)
- incorporating social justice issues with conversion away from a car-based economy
- pursuing urban revitalization through art/green space planning/bikeways & mass transit
- reduction of solid waste generation rates
Matthew St. Clair
MA
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)
Stephen Stack
MA
Stephen graduated 2024 with his Master’s from the Energy and Resources Group. His work focuses on the social, economic, and political dimensions of the clean energy transition. He is currently ... Continue Reading »
John Stanley
MS
Data Center Energy Efficiency: Granular Monitoring and Organizational Communication (’08 MS)
- economic principle/investments
- engineering principles/physical systems
- social science principles/stakeholders decision making
- whole systems engineering and/or energy efficiency
Michael Starkey
MA
Wilderness, Race, and African Americans: An Environmental History from Slavery to Jim Crow (’05 MA)
Thomas Starrs
MA, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- impact of legislation and regulation on energy technology development
- renewable energy - particularly wind and photovoltaics
Norman Stein
MA
Utility Financial Incentive Program: A Financial Incentive Scheme Designed to Stimulate Greater Levels of Conservation Achievement by Investor Owned Utilities (’82 M.A.)
- Energy economics
- not for profit development and financial management
- nuclear weapons policy and development
- organizational management
Corina Stetiu
MS, PhD
The Effect of Simplifying the Building Description on the Numerical Modeling of its Thermal Performance (93 MS) Radiant Cooling in US Office Buildings: Towards Eliminating the Perception of Climate-Imposed Barriers ... Continue Reading »
Dave Stoldt
MS
Private Cost of Public Action: Costs to Western Coal Producers of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (’82 M.S.)
- contract negotiation
- financing of water sewer/solid waste/municipally-owned electric power systems
- portfolio management and private equity for early stage companies with east coast/west coast role
- privatization
- risk allocation
- start-up financing and operations for drug discovery tool company
Mark Stout
MA
Comparative Power Analysis of the California Electric Utility Industry Deregulation Process (’97 M.A.)
- electric utility restructuring
- environmental quality and social justice
- expanding renewable energy and energy efficiency
- progressive social movements
- sustainable transportation and land use
Zachary Subin
MS, PhD
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)
Julia Szinai
MPP, MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- climate change
- demand response
- electric system planning
- electric vehicles
- energy policy
- energy water nexus
- renewable integration
Michaelangelo Tabone
MS, PhD
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, ... Continue Reading »
- data inference
- Integration of renewable electricity into power systems
- pollution from electricity generation
- residential energy efficiency
Sanjana Tadepalli
MA
Sanjana (she/her) is a Master’s graduate from 2024. She is interested in climate justice, participatory methods, and environmental communication. Before coming to ERG, Sanjana was a researcher at the Disaster ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- development
- disasters
- Environmental / Climate Equity
- environmental humanities
- ethics
- participation
- Science communication
Marika Tatsutani
MS
Unocal Corporation’s SCRAP (South Coast Recycled Auto Project): An Experiment in Corporate Environmental Initiative (’91 MS)
Kim Taylor
MA, PhD
Water Quality Monitoring for Effective Regulatory Enforcement: A Review of Options for the NPDES Program in the San Francisco Bay Region (’90 MA) Redefining Environmental Management Problems: The Shift in ... Continue Reading »
Monica Testa
MA
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 ... Continue Reading »
Ann Thorpe
MA
Organizational Approaches to Wasteland Development: Structural and Functional Aspects of Three Indian NGOs (’89 MA)
Michael Ting
MS
The Silver Bullet with Brown Baggage? Scenarios of the Emissions Impacts of Demand Response in California (05 MS)
Emma Tome
MS
Who Governs a Sustainable Neighborhood? Planning a Community-scale Retrofit in Oakland, California (MS ’18) Emma’s interests are at the intersection of climate change adaptation, environmental justice, and science and technology ... Continue Reading »
Kathy Tonnessen
MA, PhD
Integrated Assessment of Environmental Impacts: A Regulatory Approach to the Problem (’79 MA) The Potential Effects of Acid Deposition on Aquatic Ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada, California (’83 PhD)
- air quality
- aquatic ecology
- inventory and monitoring of natural resources
- parks and protected areas
- Rocky Mountain ecosystems
Margaret Torn
MS, PhD
The Threats to Biological Diversity in California (’90 MS) Environmental Controls Over Methane Flux from Ecosystems and the Potential for Feedbacks with Climatic Change (’94 PhD) See Faculty Profile
- biodiversity
- biogeochemistry
- Carbon cycle
- climate change
- conservation
- democracy
- ecosystem goods and services
- ecosystem processes
- isotopes
- land use
Sarah Trainor
MA, PhD
Money Talks, But What Can it Say? Bridging the Economic and Philosophic in Wilderness Values & Valuation (98 MA) Conflicting Values, Contested Terrain: Mormon, Paiute and Wilderness Advocate Values of ... Continue Reading »
Derrick Tucker
MA
Appropriate Technology and Soft Energy as Perspectives on Technology – Society Interactions (’86 MA)
Brian Turner
MS
E85, Flex-Fuel Vehicles, and AB 1493: Integrating biofuels into California’s vehicular greenhouse gas regulations (06 MS)
- natural lands conservation and restoration
- policy applications of environmental and ecological economics
- water policy & planning
Matthew Turner
PhD
Life on the Margin: Fulsse Herding Practices and the Relationship Between Economy and Ecology in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali (’92 Ph.D.)
Tony Usibelli
MS
The Geopressured Geothermal Resource of the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast; A Technology Characterization and Environmental Assessment (’80 M.S.)
Adriana Valencia
MS, PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- Environmental Policy
- preservation of fresh water
- reduction and management of waste
- transnational issues such as global warming
- use and spread of alternative clean technologies to make wise use of natural resources and to conserve non-renewable ones such as oil
Catherine Van Dyke
MA
Catherine is a second year Master’s student at ERG studying California agriculture and climate change. Her research focuses on water governance, resource allocation, and equity for farmers and ranchers in ... Continue Reading »
Váleri Vásquez
MS, PhD
Váleri Vásquez is a PhD candidate in the Energy and Resources Group with a Designated Emphasis in Computational Data Science and Engineering. Váleri conducts most of her work in the ... Continue Reading »
Sintana Vergara
MS, PhD
Why do POUs Fail? Barriers to the Adoption of Point of Use Water Treatment Technologies (’07 MS) Transforming trash: reuse as a waste management and climate change mitigation strategy (’11 ... Continue Reading »
- adoption of Point of Use water treatment technologies
- biodiversity
- drinking water treatment technologies and applications in the developing world
- industrial ecology
- life cycle analysis
- solid waste management in U.S. and developing countries
- waste conversion technologies
Nikhil Vijaykar
MS
Consolidation as a Solution for Central Valley Water Woes: An Exploratory Study in Tulare County (’13 MS)
- distributed energy in rural and urban settings
- environmental justice
- land use
- movement building and legal interventions
David Von Hippel
MS, PhD
The Effect of Intensive Organic Matter Utilization on Soil Quality: Protecting the Soil Resource Without Giving Up On Biomass (’83 M.S.) An Analysis of an Ethanol-Producing Solar-Bioconversion Process Using the ... Continue Reading »
- Demand Side Management
- integrated resource planning
- international energy/environment modelling and sustainable development
Alexandra Von Meier
MA, PhD
Grid-Connected Photovotaics: A Comparison of Three Siting Strategies (’90 M.A.) Cultural Factors in Technology Adoption: A Case Study of Electric Utilities and Distribution Automation (’95 Ph.D.)
- building design
- electric power systems
- Energy Efficiency
- renewable energy technology
- technology and culture
Cyrus Wadia
MS, 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.
- investigating the resource economics of new material systems for photovoltaics
- nanocomposite photovoltaics
- novel PV device fabrication using aqueous chemistry of nanoparticles
Tzipora Wagner
MS
The Role of Stakeholder Networks in Urban Water System Innovation (MS ’20) Tzipora’s is interested in water resources and the role of technology in promoting sustainability, especially in the developing ... Continue Reading »
Erika Walther
MA
The Zuni Sustainable Energy Project: Implementing a Photovoltaics Credit Program in a Traditional Economy (’01 M.A.)
- California energy efficiency programs and policy
- electricity production
- international development
- rural electrification
- social context and implications for both
Lucy Wamukonya
MS
Classification of Biomass Fuels for Fouling & Slagging Using Principal Component Analysis (’96 M.S.)
Xiaodong Wang
PhD
Comparison of Constraints on Coal and Biomass Fuels Development in China’s Energy Future (’97 Ph.D.)
- air pollution from energy use
- energy and environmental policy issues in China
- Environmental Economics
- renewable energy and energy conservation
Dina Washburn
MA
Competing in the California Power Market: Bonneville’s Struggle to Overcome the Barriers (’86 M.A.)
Robert Watson
MS
Case Study of Energy Efficient Building Retrofit: 40 West 20th Street–Headquarters of the Natural Resources Defense Council (’90 M.S.)
- green buildings
- lighting and other building system efficiency
- multilateral development bank energy sector lending reform
- promoting integrated resource planning in developing countries
- renewable energy
- transportation efficiency
Robert Weisenmiller
MS
Electricity Consumption in California for Residential Heating and Cooling (’77 M.S.)
Justin West
MS
Justin’s background in botany and agroecology informs his research in perennial crop farming systems and woody biomass coppice. Most recently he has been researching tropical fodder bank systems in South ... Continue Reading »
Lee Wexler
MS
Population Growth, Global Warming, and the Carbon Externality to Childbearing (’95 M.S.)
- evolutionary biology
- modeling and simulation of human-ecosystem interaction
- population and environment
Charles White
MS, PhD
Closing the Material Loop: Investigating the Dynamics of, Motivations for, and Obstacles to Material Recycling through a Case Study on Product Recovery and Demanufacturing in the Computer Industry (’99 MS) ... Continue Reading »
- environmental design
- environmental performance/regulation/management
- environmental policy with a focus on building government and industry capacity to manage the impacts of industrial technologies
- industial ecology
- public administration and organization theory
Janine White
MS
Public Participation and the Hazardous Waste Management Planning Process in Alameda County (’89 M.S.)
- energy development/environmental degradation linkages
- hazardous substances and waste management
- public policy and participation
- risk perception
- waste treatment