Dr. Nan Zhou is a Senior Scientist at the College of Natural Resources , UC Berkeley, Co-Chair of the Academic Advisory Board of the California-China Climate Institute, a Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a global expert in energy efficiency, greenhouse gas mitigation, and sustainable energy systems.
Dr. Zhou has held multiple leadership roles at Berkeley Lab, including Head of the International Energy Analysis Department (2017–2021) and China Energy Group Leader (2017–2019). Dr. Zhou’s work bridges the critical gap between technical research and real-world policy implementation. She has directed major multi-institutional programs focused on building energy efficiency, industrial decarbonization, and integrated energy system modeling, providing data-
driven roadmaps for governments and industries worldwide.
Her leadership extends to key international platforms; she serves in senior leadership roles for multiple high-profile flagship bilateral and multilateral initiatives collaborating with global partners to accelerate transitions toward secure, resilient net-zero energy systems. Specifically, Dr. Zhou served as the Director (2012–2021) and Deputy Director (2010–2012) of the $100 million U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center-Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE) program, where she led efforts to drive innovation in building energy efficiency and sustainable construction.
Her work has been widely recognized, including the 2024 ACEEE Champion of Energy Efficiency in Buildings Award, the 2020 Berkeley Lab Director’s Technology Transfer Award, multiple R&D 100 Awards, finalist recognition for the 2016 C3E Awards, and inclusion in Clarivate’s 2025 Highly Cited Researchers™ list. She has published over 300 papers and contributed to the development of more than 20 software tools and influential policy instruments.
Dr. Zhou serves on editorial boards for Nexus (Cell Press), Applied Energy, and Advances in Applied Energy. She is a Council Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council, and the U.S.-designated Advisory Board Member to the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC).
She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and began her academic career in Japan.
- Integrated Modeling & Roadmapping: Developing tools like the DREAM model to evaluate decarbonization pathways and techno-economic impacts for national and industrial sectors.
- Industrial Decarbonization: Bottom-up process modeling for energy-intensive industries (steel, cement, chemicals) to identify barriers and pathways for electrification and resource efficiency.
- High-Performance Buildings & Grid Interaction: Advancing building standards and "grid-interactive" assets that leverage demand flexibility to support grid reliability.
- Urban Systems & Training: Optimizing the nexus of mobility, infrastructure, and energy in rapid urbanization, while training the next generation of regional energy leaders.
