ERG’s sixty plus graduate students are geographically and ethnically diverse. About half are in the masters-degree program and half in the PhD program. The students come from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds in engineering, natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities; the characteristics they have in common are an ability to cross disciplinary boundaries, an interest in the complex problems at the interface of technology and society, and the intellectual credentials to succeed in a rigorous academic program. Graduates of the program are employed across the United States and around the world in governmental and international agencies, legislative staff positions, national laboratories, public and private utilities, other energy and resource companies, consulting firms, public-interest organizations, and universities.
Dan is a concurrent degree student 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 at the Energy Foundation. Dan is currently interested in power sector regulatory models that are consistent with a low-carbon […]
Nate Aden is a PhD student with the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley and 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 the U.S. and China. In 2013 Nate published a WRI report entitled “Energy Efficiency […]
Nkiruka is an engineer who graduated Summa cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Her professional career placed her in the different sectors of the energy industry, from production to distribution and marketing. Her current interests include researching sustainable energy development, renewable energy integration and rural electrification. […]
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 […]
Richard applies computational and mathematical techniques to better understand the complex interface of society and the environment. At the moment his work is focused on modelling the evolutionary dynamics of plants to find useful variants that nature could not build; on the side he is working to develop linear time parallel terrain analysis algorithms. A […]
Gordon is broadly interested in the intersection between sustainable technology and individual behavior, and how the use of technology can be influenced to optimally achieve sustainability goals. Climate change arises not just from flawed technology, but also from society’s interaction with it, and any solutions must pay heed to these interactions as well. Prior to […]
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 […]
High-resolution weather and climate data is fast becoming cheap and ubiquitous. As a National Defense Science and Engineering Fellow and member of UC Berkeley’s “Data Sciences for the 21st Century” cohort, Ian works to capitalize on this increasing availability of data to drive modeling improvements with an emphasis on impact analysis and operational use. Currently, […]
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 […]
Sharada’s research is focused on recovery of nutrients, primarily Phosphorous, from human waste, particularly septage, and their reuse in Indian agriculture. His work focuses on understanding policies and regulations that encourage businesses to facilitate reuse of septage as fertilizer. He is interested in knowing why some farmers do not use faecal sludge irrespective of its […]
Bodie seeks to use interdisciplinary tools to find and implement energy solutions that meet the needs of the developing world without compromising human and environmental well-being. He has spent the last two years working on developing clean-burning cookstoves for both an NGO (in India) and a social enterprise (in US/East Africa). These experiences took him […]
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 […]
Felipe is 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 driven techniques to improve the analysis and design of […]
Zoë Chafe is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow whose work spotlights the ambient air pollution, health, and climate effects of household energy use. Her dissertation focuses on the impacts of cooking and heating with solid fuels (wood, charcoal, dung, coal). She has served as the IPCC AR5 Human Health Chapter Scientist, a lead author of […]
At times the problem of understanding phenomena is one of seeing. That is why Danielle explores new ways of demystifying complexity through visual representation. She seeks new techniques to illustrate often-forgotten, yet fundamental dependencies between human society and the natural world. One such technique is terrestrial laser scanning (also known as LIDAR), which she used to create a 3-D model of her ecological study site in the Sierra Nevada. This along with her seedling research seeks to inform the uncertain future of resource management.
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."
Rebecca is a dual-degree Masters student in 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 adaptation.
Yoshika grew up in Lawrence, KS, and received her B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University in 2013. For the next nearly 2 years, she lived in Dhaka, Bangladesh, as the Project Manager for Lotus Water, a Stanford-based group focused on community-level water disinfection for urban slums. In collaboration with the International Centre […]
John comes to ERG from the mountains of North Georgia. As an undergraduate research assistant, he worked extensively on historical land use, urban greenspace, and novel applications of GIS in the humanities His current research interests are broadly concerned with the land-water nexus, climate resiliency, and leveraging geospatial technology to better assess natural assets and […]
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 technical solutions for integrating large amounts of […]
Alex Dolginow is a Master’s degree candidate interested in understanding appropriate design and conditions for ‘environmental markets,’ such as trading of carbon, water, and conserved land. He hopes to combine economic, policy, and technical approaches to analyze such markets in places like Brazil and Indonesia. Prior to Cal, Alex worked as a strategy consultant with […]
Katie’s interests are in community forestry, natural resource conflict management, cultural dimensions of ecosystem management and place studies. She graduated with a BA in Anthropology from Davidson College (2010) and focused undergraduate research on sense of place in Southern Appalachian coal communities. Katie previously worked as a field educator for the Teton Science Schools in […]
Frank grew up on the central New Jersey coast, completing a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Environmental Policy & Sustainability from the Richard Stockton College. He went on to earn an M.A. from Columbia University’s Climate and Society Program, focusing on atmospheric science and international economic development. Upon graduation Frank worked on […]
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 […]
As mountain snow in spring shall know the story of the fall So daily sun and moon recall the sea within their tow What nature brings and math abides society defines But stories told between those lines ERG doctorally confides So I of natural systems in the European milieu Do prod the plural methods making […]
Rachel is a dual-degree Masters student in the Energy and Resources Group and the Goldman School of Public Policy. She 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 supply-side. She […]
As a dual NSF and Chancellor’s Fellow in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), Pierce works in the nexus of design thinking and impact evaluation for products and services for the abject poor. He intends to explore the impact that design thinking has on multiple indicators of success across disparate intervention categories, while exploring the […]
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 […]
Adam is interested in how climate change and biodiversity loss can be mitigated through agriculture, forestry, and conservation strategy. Prior to joining ERG, Adam worked with an early stage agriculture technology company called TerViva where he conducted research and business development to expand the adoption of novel, sustainable crops on marginal land. This work exposed […]
Sasha Harris-Lovett is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group and a NSF Graduate Research Program Fellow. Her research interests include urban water and wastewater management, decision analysis for socio-environmental problems, and climate change mitigation. She is an avid reader and writer, and a freelance science journalist. Before coming to ERG, she taught […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 western US for a reliable grid network that enables renewable power integration by States and […]
Anushah is interested in studying the factors that affect consumer adoption of sustainable technologies. Prior to ERG, Anushah worked at the nonprofit research institute RTI International on a variety of technology adoption projects spanning sanitation, agriculture, and advanced vehicle technologies. Anushah graduated in 2015 from UC Berkeley, with degrees in History and Economics. Contact: anushah.h@berkeley.edu
Chris Hyun comes from a decade of experience in South Asia, focused on water, pollution, culture, religion, and development, particularly in the Ganges River Basin. He has been involved with a variety of NGOs, working on income generation, education, watershed management, and river advocacy. Though he has a variety of interests in the water sector, […]
Veronica is a first year master/PhD student interested in renewable energy access for developing communities. She earned her B.S. in engineering physics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Following graduation, she worked at the New York Imagine Science & Film Festival and as a science instructor for Harlem’s Children’s Zone. She is a returned Peace […]
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 […]
I grew up in Lancaster in the north west of England. I moved to London to study economics at the London School of Economics and upon graduating I began working at Ofgem, the UK energy regulator. I worked there as an economist for almost three years and for most of that I lived in Glasgow, […]
Seigi’s primary research interests include the political economy of drinking water access and distributive justice vis-a-vis natural resources. He holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from UCLA (2011) and an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Tokyo (2013). In the past, Seigi was: a TEDx organizer in Japan; a graduate intern in […]
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 […]
Prior to ERG, Jessie was an Energy Analyst for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Office in DC where she promoted energy efficiency in buildings. In addition to pursuing a dual MPP/MS-ERG degree, she is currently a project consultant for Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute (BECI) and VP of Events and Programs for the […]
José Daniel Lara was born in San José, Costa Rica. He received a B.Sc. and Licentiate in Electrical Engineering in 2009 and 2012 from the University of Costa Rica; both with an emphasis in power systems and electrical machines and MASc degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario Canada. Research […]
Eli is an Ecological Economist working toward the development of a metric combining the elements of sustainability, efficiency, and welfare as core values. He is interested in the potential of re-framing and quantifying value beyond the market mechanism in order to address the most profound problems we face as a species. Most recently, Eli was […]
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, […]
Morgan’s fields of study include earth systems science, hydrology, and statistics. Morgan’s research interests are the ‘water-agriculture-climate’ nexus, and research subject areas include eco-hydrology and hydroclimatology, agricultural water management, irrigation, water use efficiency and productivity, and climate change impacts and adaptation. Morgan is the recipient of awards including the NSF-GRFP, EPA-STAR, Fulbright, NSF-EAPSI, and […]
New integrated metrics like Gross National Happiness and the Genuine Progress Indicator are challenging GDP as high-level measures of progress. But how do they, if at all, influence policymakers’ decisions? What results from the lack of integration, operationally and narratively, with indicators operating at different scales such as the Ecological Footprint or B Corporation assessment? […]
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 […]
Sophie Major’s interests are found at the intersection between political economy and social justice. She is currently investigating theories of ideology, justice, and power in the context of international climate politics. Prior to joining ERG, Sophie completed her interdisciplinary B.A.S. at Quest University Canada, where her thesis research assessed the role of First Nations’ activism […]
Adrienne works on climate change adaptation and mitigation in the public and private forests and wild lands of California. She is interested in understanding how the natural resources in these areas, particularly water, are affected by climate change. How can we manage our forests and wild lands in order to reduce both the magnitude of […]
Laura earned her B.S. degree from UC Berkeley in Conservation and Resource Studies with a concentration in Environmental Education. While an undergraduate, she initiated and led several campus programs relating to green building and recycling, including the Building Sustainability at Cal Program. They aimed to educate and engage students while reducing the campus’ environmental impact. […]
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.
Adam returned to graduate school after a career as an attorney specializing in environmental, energy, and natural resources litigation. He came to Berkeley to focus on what the law can be, and should be. His research interests – ranging across the environmental, energy, and natural resources sectors – include public policy analysis and development, public […]
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 […]
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 […]
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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 on the Yuba River in California. Joseph is also a […]
Jess studies the impact of and adaptation to climate change on Latin America’s coasts. Currently, she travels on her 39-foot sailboat, Oleada, down the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America, through the Panama Canal, and into the Caribbean to document local climate knowledge through GIS mapping and personal narratives. You can follow her journey […]
John Romankiewicz is an MS/MPP candidate in the Energy & Resources Group and Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. He is the VP of Membership for the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative and a leader of the Cleanweb Berkeley community, through which he has organized clean energy hackathons on campus. Prior to grad […]
Laura studies the environmental impacts of transportation in the developed world. She focuses on new methods of data collection and analysis to better understand the various levers behind driving behavior, the effectiveness of policies to reduce driving, and the interaction of freight and driving-for-shopping. Laura has been a Berkeley Fellow and a Research Fellow of […]
Joachim (Jo) Seel is a Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, where his research focuses on electricity market design and on the integration of high shares of intermittent renewable generation. He is a Researcher at the Electricity Markets and Policy Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, analyzing the development of wind […]
Britt is a first year master’s student in the Energy and Resources Group. Her interests lie in clean power sector development in emerging markets, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa, and creative financing mechanisms for renewable energy uptake. Prior to her graduate studies, Britt supported USAID Power Africa projects focusing on geothermal energy development in Kenya, […]
Esther earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Occidental College in 2014, where she also studied philosophy and visual arts. Upon graduating she began working for the U.S. Department of Justice as a Statistician in the Economic Analysis Group of the Antitrust Division, in Washington, D.C. Her current academic interests stem from her background in […]
Esther earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Occidental College in 2014, where she also minored in philosophy and visual arts. As an undergrad she conducted research on the relationship between India’s financial depth and its renewable energy sector development, as well as wetland conservation and restoration policies within the United States. Upon graduating she […]
Imran Sheikh is a PhD student 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 three years at Rocky Mountain Institute […]
Alana Siegner graduated from Tufts University in 2012 with a double major in Environmental Studies and International Relations. She was the Local Outreach Chair of the Tufts-Engineers Without Borders chapter, and spent 3 summers traveling to Uganda to work on an EWB clean water storage project. Before coming to ERG, Alana served for 2 years […]
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.
Lydia’s research takes her to the Alaskan Arctic, where she studies soil carbon turnover and greenhouse gas emissions. Her primary interests are mechanisms of soil carbon stabilization, soil microbes, and methane. She loves being up to her knees in Arctic tundra, but tries to find time for her other interests: making art, playing old-time music, […]
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. She focused […]
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 […]
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 Master’s/Ph.D. student with the Energy and Resources Group; she is interested in sustainable development and the application of data science toward smart urban growth. Valeri is on leave for the duration of 2015, advising the co-chair of the ongoing negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is […]
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 a research engineer for Georgia Tech Research Institute and created her […]
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. […]
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. […]