Pages (8 results)
TopEquity Diversity
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at ERG Equity and inclusion are at the heart of our mission to provide education and research for a sustainable and just society. We aspire ... Continue Reading »
Affiliated Faculty
ERG has a small core faculty but a much larger group of affiliated faculty. Affiliated faculty are based in other departments on campus or at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, ... Continue Reading »
Courses
All Course Offerings Please note: This is a full list of ERG course offerings; not all courses are offered each term. For current course offerings, please refer to the online ... Continue Reading »
Faculty by Primary Interest
Areas of Interest Climate ChangeEcologyEnergyGovernanceWaterInternational Climate Change ERG CORE David Anthoff David Anthoff is an environmental economist who studies climate change and environmental policy. He co-develops the integrated assessment model ... Continue Reading »
Sustainability Summer Minor and Certificate
The Minor and Certificate in Sustainability provides a comprehensive understanding of the most pressing issues facing the world today. ERG’s Minor/Certificate program offers a practical and relevant interdisciplinary approach at ... Continue Reading »
Sustainability Minor/Certificate FAQs
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Learning What is the difference between synchronous vs. asynchronous instruction, and online courses vs. remote instruction courses? Courses originally offered online (i.e. Energy and Society and Water ... Continue Reading »
Undergraduate Minor in Energy and Resources
The Minor in Energy and Resources offers undergraduates basic knowledge and skills to address issues arising from the interaction of social, economic, political, technical, and environmental factors shaping our world. ... Continue Reading »
Awards
Student Awards ERG students have been recognized nationally and internationally for their research. Below, you can find a selection of recent awards received by ERG Masters and PhD students. CAL ... Continue Reading »
Faculty (6 results)
TopMeg Mills-Novoa
Assistant Professor
Meg Mills-Novoa is a human-environment geographer who researches the enduring impacts of climate change adaptation projects. She is jointly appointed to the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.
- climate change adaptation
- critical development studies
- Deforestation
- Latin America
- participatory mixed methods
- political ecology of global change
- water justice
Andrew D. Jones
Assistant Adjunct Professor
Dr. Jones is an Earth scientist who works at the interface of human and environmental systems. His research uses quantitative models and data analysis to understand climate change and human-Earth system interactions at decision-relevant scales. He also collaborates with social scientists and interacts closely with stakeholders to understand how science can effectively provide actionable insight into strategies for increasing resilience of energy water, food, and urban systems.
Youjin Chung
Assistant Professor
Youjin Chung is Assistant Professor of Sustainability and Equity with a joint appointment in the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.
Lara Kueppers
Associate Professor
Lara Kueppers is an Associate Professor in the Energy and Resources Group, with a Faculty Scientist appointment at Berkeley Lab. She is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist, whose research focuses on ecological responses and feedbacks to climate change.
Isha Ray
Professor
Professor Ray’s research interests are water and development; technology and development; common property resources; and social science research methods. Her research projects focus on access to water and sanitation for the rural and urban poor, and on the role of technology in improving livelihoods.
Duncan Callaway
Associate Professor, ERG Chair
Dr. Callaway’s teaching focuses on power systems and energy efficiency. His research can be categorized in three areas: modeling and control of aggregated storage devices; power management; and system analysis of energy technologies and their impact.
Students (15 results)
TopColette Brown
MS
Colette’s research and interests focus on using remote sensing and data science to better explore and predict changes to the arctic. She currently works for Dr. Margaret Torn and Dr. ... Continue Reading »
Nabig Chaudhry
MS, PhD
I’m Nabig Chaudhry. I’m a MS/PhD candidate at UC Berkeley studying climate resilience and adaptation, climate risk, and applied data science. My research lies at the intersection of climate, tech, ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- climate adaptation
- climate resilience
- Climate Tech
- energy
- Environmental / Climate Equity
- environmental data science
- sustainability
Hikari Murayama
PhD
Hikari’s research largely focuses on combining remote sensing and machine learning methods to study human impacts on large spatial scales. She was selected to be a Data Science Fellow at ... Continue Reading »
Nancy Freitas
MS, PhD
Arctic Lake Emissions in a Warming World (MS ’20) At ERG, Nancy research focuses on identifying existing gaps in climate science and decision-making. In her master’s research, she used a ... 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 »
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
Liyang Wang
MS, PhD
Liyang is a PhD student in the Energy & Resources Group and a Senior Research Associate at Berkeley Lab. Her research interest is at the intersection of decision science, climate ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- decision-making
- economics
- energy
- Energy System Modeling
- environmental justice
- technology adoption
- uncertainties
Jess Kersey
MS, PhD
Jess Kersey is a fourth-year PhD student broadly interested in technology, regulation, and policy to improve energy access and climate adaptation efforts across multiple geographies including East Africa, Latin America, ... Continue Reading »
Gauthami Penakalapati
MS, PhD
Evaluation of Social Networks and Measures of Empowerment Among Adolescent Girls in Uttar Pradesh, India (MS ’19) Gauthami’s interdisciplinary research intersects global health, feminist theory, science technology studies, social network ... Continue Reading »
- community-based and participatory methods
- development
- GIS
- qualitative methods
- sanitation
- social network analysis
- spatial analysis
- urban planning
- water
- Water Group
Lisa Rennels
MS, PhD
Sobol Sensitivity Analysis for Integrated Assessment Models: Supporting Result Characterization (MS ’19) Lisa is interested in using computer science to explore issues related to the economic impacts of climate change, ... Continue Reading »
Salma Elmallah
MS, PhD
Characterizing Fairness, Transparency, and Openness in US Wind Project Planning (MS ’19) Salma’s dissertation studies the equity and distributional impacts of residential heating electrification policy and planning, focusing on cities ... Continue Reading »
Hilary Yu
MS
Mining Data on Reclaimed Coal Mines: a Machine Learning Approach to Assessing Habitat Suitability (MS ’18) Hilary received her B.A. in Government and Biological Sciences, with a concentration in Ecology ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- development
- ecology
- economics
- energy
- environmental justice
- Science and Law
- sustainable development
- water
Esther Shears
MPP, MS, PhD
The Impact of Data Access on Academic Research: Evidence from the Land Remote-sensing Commercialization Act of 1984 (MS ’18) Esther researches how climate change will impact the financial sector and ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- economics
- environmental justice
- integrated assessment modeling
- international political economy
- SEEL Lab
- sustainable finance
Dennis Best
MS, PhD
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, ... Continue Reading »
- Agriculture
- China
- climate
- economics
- energy
- energy policy
- environmental markets and design
- geospatial analysis
- industrial ecology
- Innovation systems
- rural development
- South East Asia and Latin America
- technology policy
Eli Lazarus
MS, PhD
Eli is an Ecological Economist working on comprehensive welfare measurement, tracking, and optimization. His research investigates and contributes to filling the gap between market optimization/welfare and broader social welfare. Recent ... Continue Reading »
- Anthoff Lab
- Computable General Equalibrium (CGE)
- ecological economics
- ecology
- economics
- energy
- Julia
- Pigouvian taxes
- Systems dynamics
- Systems Modelling
Alumni (30 results)
TopLuke 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 »
Adam Hanbury-Brown
MS, PhD
Predicting the future of forests under global change: the critical role of the regeneration process (PhD ’22) Adam is a PhD focused on ecosystem modeling and remote sensing. His research ... Continue Reading »
- Agriculture
- climate
- Earth System Models
- ecology
- Forest Regeneration
- Movement Ecology
- remote sensing
- Vegetation Dynamics
- Wildlife Ecology
Niklas Lollo
MS, PhD
Inside Out: the Power in Data-Centric Private Governance (PhD ’20) Inspired by ecological economics, Niklas is focused on global governance of production and consumption. At ERG, he is combining data ... Continue Reading »
- ecological economics
- governance
- political ecology
- Political economy
- Science and Technology Studies
- SEEL
- supply chains
- sustainability indicators
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 »
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
Pierce Gordon
MS, PhD
Investigating Innovation Practice: Cross-disciplinary Studies in International Development (PhD ’18) As a NSF, Chancellor’s, and InFEWS Fellow in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), Pierce investigates frameworks, methodologies, and contexts ... Continue Reading »
- Actors/History in International Development
- Berkeley Expert System Technologies (BEST) Laboratory
- Design
- Design Thinking
- development
- Development Engineering
- Evaluation
- Impact Evaluation
- Marginalization
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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
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
Jonathan Lee
MS, PhD
The Cost of Reliability in Decentralized Solar Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (MS ’18); Energy Management in Community Microgrids (PhD ’22) Jonathan studies transitions in electric power systems and electricity markets, ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- development
- energy
- RAEL
- renewable energy integration
- rural electrification
- solar energy
- sustainable energy development
Gordon Bauer
MS, PhD
Operation, Cost, and Environmental Impact of Self-Driving Electric Taxi Fleets (MS ’18) Transportation has long been dominated by the personal gasoline-powered automobile, but breakthroughs in electric vehicles, shared mobility, and ... Continue Reading »
Felipe Castro
PhD
On Rate Regulation in Modern Electricity Sectors (PhD ’17) Felipe was a Ph.D. Candidate with ERG. His research seeks to improve the understanding and organization of energy systems, leveraging methods, ... Continue Reading »
- computational optimization
- EMAC
- energy policy
- industrial organizations
- mathematical programming
- microeconomics
- operations research
- Power Systems
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 »
Anna Brockway
MS, PhD
New challenges facing electric power systems: Integrating technical realities and policy goals (PhD ’22) Anna Brockway is a PhD from the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. She holds ... Continue Reading »
- climate adaptation
- economics
- electricity grid
- electricity markets
- energy
- Energy System Modeling
- renewable energy integration
- renewable energy policy
- solar energy
- utility business models
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
Daniel Aas
MA, MPP
Greater than the Sum of Their Parts? Political Impacts of State Climate Policies in the Face of Partisan Polarization (MA/MPP ’17) Dan completed concurrent degrees at the Goldman School of ... Continue Reading »
- "Utility Regulation Distributed Energy Resources Electricity Markets Climate Policy "
- economics
- energy
José Daniel Lara
MS, PhD
Modeling and Simulation of Electric Power Systems with Large Shares of Renewable Energy (PhD ’22) Jose Daniel was born in San José Costa Rica, received his B.Sc. and Licentiate in ... Continue Reading »
- development
- economics
- energy
- energy policy
- Energy System Modeling
- Optimization
- power systems operation
- power systems planning
- RAEL
- transportation
- water
Jason MacDonald
PhD
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 ... Continue Reading »
- climate change
- demand response
- Distributed energy resources
- electric vehicles
- Electricity Grid and Markets
- EMAC
- energy
- renewable energy integration
Ian Bolliger
MS, PhD
Monitoring and Projecting the Impacts of Climate Change with Emerging Environmental Datasets and Machine Learning (PhD ’20) Ian works to provide decision-makers with quantitative, high-resolution projections of the socioeconomic impacts ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- economics
- energy
- Global Policy Laboratory
- health impacts of climate change
- machine learning
- remote sensing
- spatial statistics
- tropical cyclones
- water
Cecilia Han Springer
MS, PhD
Policies for an Ecological Civilization: China, Carbon, and Economic Reform (PhD ’19) Cecilia is a PhD candidate at ERG. Her dissertation uses economic modeling and social science to critically analyze ... Continue Reading »
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
Cleo Woelfle-Erskine
MS, PhD
In the tradition of Barad and Haraway, I practice Science and Technology Studies (STS) “from the inside”, drawing on my own natural science training to inform the theoretical frameworks I ... Continue Reading »
- community science
- groundwater-surface water interactions
- mediterranean streams
- rainwater harvesting
- salmonids
- Stephanie Carlson Lab
- watershed rehabilitation
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.
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 »
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
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
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.
Michael Cohen
MS, PhD
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."
- EMAC
- energy
- Energy System Modeling
- Integration of renewable electricity into power systems
- Video Gaming for Education
Danielle Svehla Christianson
MS, PhD
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.
Zoë Chafe
MPH, MS, PhD
Dr. Chafe works at the intersections of public health, air pollution, climate change, and energy use. She holds a PhD from the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), as well as ... Continue Reading »
- climate
- climate change and public health
- co-benefits (ancillary benefits) of climate change mitigation
- development
- energy
- energy transitions and impacts on air pollution
- heating and cooking with solid fuels
- household energy policy options
- Household energy use trends
- short-lived greenhouse pollutants
Sam Borgeson
MA, PhD
Targeted Efficiency: Using Customer Meter Data to Improve Efficiency Program Outcomes (PhD ’14) Sam’s works focuses on tools to scale up and improve the performance of energy efficiency programs in ... Continue Reading »
News (17 results)
TopERG PhD Student Esther Shears on Improving Data Access and Equality
September 10, 2020
ERG PhD student Esther Shears recently published her work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Her publication, titled "Improving data access democratizes and diversifies science", focuses on how critical data access is for empirical research and the diversity of scientific research. Shears shares a two-sentence summary from the abstract of what she found from her analysis, stating that "Scientists who start using Landsat data after access is improved tend to focus on previously understudied regions close to their home location and introduce novel research topics. These findings suggest that policies that improve access to valuable scientific data may promote scientific progress, reduce inequality among scientists, and increase the diversity of scientific research."
Environment and Society New ERG Course: Data
May 2, 2019
Data, Environment and Society (ENERES 131) Professor Duncan Callaway Lecture (#33105) TT 9:30 – 11am Labs (#33106) M 10am – 12pm or (#33276) W 10am – 12pm This course will teach ... Continue Reading »
Transportation Emissions in Mexico City – How Big Data is Driving Change
March 8, 2018
Mexico City is one of the most congested cities in the world, and it’s taking a toll on the health of its citizens and the environment. Sergio Castellanos, a postdoctoral ... Continue Reading »
Data: Big disparities in energy use across desert
February 13, 2015
ERG PhD candidate Chris Jones explains household electricity consumption.
Brandt (PhD’08) publishes in Science on Methane Leaks
February 14, 2014
“People who go out and actually measure methane pretty consistently find more emissions than we expect," claims Adam Brandt, ERG Alum and assistant professor at Stanford.
ERG Student Valeri Vasquez Awarded Prestigious Fellowship
August 11, 2017
We would like to congratulate ERG PhD student Valerie Vasquez on receiving a 2017 ACM SIGHPC/Intel Computational and Data Science Fellowship.
ERG PhD Student Adam Hanbury-Brown Awarded NASA Research Grant
July 3, 2020
ERG PhD Student Adam Hanbury-Brown was recently awarded funding through NASA's Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) program, which is designed to support graduate student-designed and performed research projects that advance NASA's science, technology, and exploration goals.
Challenges ERGies Contribute to IEEE “Electricity for All: Issues
September 9, 2019
Several ERGies recently contributed articles to an IEEE Special Issue on "Electricity for All: Issues, Challenges, and Solutions for Energy-Disadvantaged Communities."
Isha Ray and Chris Hyun Analyze Issues with Water Access Alerts in Bangalore
April 16, 2019
A recent article from UC Berkeley’s Blum Center considers the lessons learned from the trial run of Next drop, an application intended to help residents of Bangalore, India optimize their ... Continue Reading »
Paper Authored by PhD Candidate Noah Kittner and Professor Dan Kammen Published in Nature Energy
August 16, 2017
Noah Kittner and Dan Kammen's new paper, "Energy storage deployment and innovation for the clean energy transition," was published in Nature Energy on July 31, 2017
New ERG Chair Daniel M. Kammen
July 25, 2017
We are pleased to announce the appointment of the new Energy and Resources Group Chair, Professor Daniel M. Kammen. His appointment began July 1, 2017. Daniel Kammen is a Professor of Energy with ... Continue Reading »
ERG graduate student Hausfather in LA Times
May 10, 2017
ERG doctoral student Zeke Hausfather comments in this LA Times article on a newly published analysis that reconciles different climate change data sets and confirms dominant human influence in long-term warming.
No Pause in Global Warming Says ERG Grad Student Hausfather NOAA Was Right
January 11, 2017
A controversial paper published two years ago that concluded there was no detectable slowdown in ocean warming over the previous 15 years — widely known as the “global warming hiatus” — has now been confirmed using independent data in research led by researchers from UC Berkeley and Berkeley Earth.
Kripa Jagannathan selected for UC Food Fellowship
December 28, 2014
ERG Master's-PhD To ssess the accuracy of different climate models at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Holdren on Climate Change in the USA
May 6, 2014
Watch Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science & Technology and ERG Co-founder, discuss the newly released National Climate Assessment report.
Holdren Sets New Course for US Energy
March 20, 2014
President Obama's top science advisor and ERG Co-founder, John Holdren, is confident that America's next energy plan "will make a difference."
50% of U.S. household carbon footprint Suburban sprawl
January 8, 2014
Chris Jones (ERG PhD) and Prof. Dan Kammen point out that U.S. households are responsible for about 20% of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, which are driving climate change.
Topics (3 results)
TopColette Brown
MS
Colette’s research and interests focus on using remote sensing and data science to better explore and predict changes to the arctic. She currently works for Dr. Margaret Torn and Dr. ... Continue Reading »
Portia Awuah
MS
Portia is a MS student in the Energy and Resources Group. She is interested in extending energy access to areas without electricity. As an Electrical and Electronics engineering bachelor’s degree ... Continue Reading »
Nancy Freitas
MS, PhD
Arctic Lake Emissions in a Warming World (MS ’20) At ERG, Nancy research focuses on identifying existing gaps in climate science and decision-making. In her master’s research, she used a ... Continue Reading »