M. Granger Morgan
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy, Heinz College
M. Granger Morgan is the Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon. He holds appointments in three academic units: the Department of Engineering and Public Policy; the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and the H. John Heinz III College. His research addresses problems in science, technology, and public policy, with a particular focus on energy, electric power, environmental systems, climate change, the adoption of new technologies, and risk analysis. Much of his work has involved the development and demonstration of methods to characterize and treat uncertainty in quantitative policy analysis. At CMU, Morgan co-directs the NSF Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making, and (with Jay Apt) the university’s Electricity Industry Center.
Morgan is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. At the National Academies, he serves as the NAS co-chair of the Report Review Committee, and has chaired a variety of consensus studies. Morgan is a member of the board for the International Risk Governance Council Foundation, and of the Advisory Board for the E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen. He is a member of the DOE's Electricity Advisory Committee, and of the Energy Advisory Committee of PNNL. In the past, he served as Chair of the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and as Chair of the Advisory Council of the Electric Power Research Institute. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, the IEEE, and the Society for Risk Analysis. He holds a B.A. from Harvard College (1963), where he concentrated in physics, an M.S. in astronomy and space science from Cornell (1965), and a Ph.D. from the Department of Applied Physics and Information Sciences at the University of California at San Diego (1969).
White papers
Education
1968 Ph.D., Applied Physics and Information Science, University of California, San Diego
1965 MS, Astronomy and Space Science, Cornell University
1963 BA, Physics, Harvard College
Media mentions
Engineering and Public Policy
Seed grant spotlight: Improving electric-power resilience
College of Engineering researchers Maryam Hamidi, Ramteen Sioshansi, and Granger Morgan are developing a robust optimization model that is capable of analyzing threats to the grid and providing commensurate responses that improve its resilience and mitigate supply disruptions.
Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation
Seed grant spotlight: Improving electric-power resilience
College of Engineering researchers are developing a robust optimization model that is capable of analyzing threats to the grid and providing commensurate responses that improve its resilience and mitigate supply disruptions.
CMU Engineering
Hubs: A step towards a hydrogen future?
Hydrogen is sometimes considered a secret ingredient in the recipe for a net-zero future. As a team of Carnegie Mellon researchers points out, hydrogen offers many advantages, but it’s not a panacea.
Carnegie Mellon University
Seven Engineering faculty awarded grants from Scott Institute
Seven faculty from the College of Engineering received project funding from this year’s Scott Institute Seed Grants.
Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation
Scott Institute seed grants advance clean energy research at Carnegie Mellon University
ince the Scott Institute’s founding in 2012, a core initiative has been the Seed Grants for Energy Research program. With this funding, researchers across the university receive important early-stage support for developing cutting-edge energy research.
Science
Morgan and Apt discuss the benefits of a mixed portfolio of low-carbon technology
Granger Morgan and Jay Apt discuss the benefits of a mixed portfolio of low-carbon technology in terms of reducing greenhouse gases as quickly as possible.
Earth.Org
Morgan and Karplus talk carbon capture facilities
EPP’s Granger Morgan and Valerie Karplus talk about streamlining the process of building carbon capture facilities with Earth.Org. “Right now you’re looking at 6 to 10 years and up to 12 years, potentially, to get through all of these regulatory steps,” Karplus says.
Engineering and Public Policy
Quantifying barriers to establishing sequestration wells
Recent work from the Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) estimates the time required to develop, approve, and implement a geologic sequestration site in the U.S. by identifying six clearance points that must be passed for a site to become operational and provide insights into how this timeframe could be reduced.
CMU Engineering
Quantifying barriers to establishing sequestration wells
Recent work from CMU researchers estimates the time required to develop, approve, and implement a carbon capture and sequestration site and provides insights into how this timeframe could be reduced.
ABC News
Morgan discusses Earth’s climate health with ABC News
ECE/EPP’s Granger Morgan discusses Earth’s climate health with ABC News. “Experts don’t agree on exactly where the limits are, or how much the planet’s different systems may interact, but we are getting dangerously close,” he says.
CMU Engineering
U.S. natural gas pipelines vulnerable to electric outages
Interdependencies between the natural gas and electric grids could cause cascading outages during hazardous events, particularly in California, the Midwest, the Gulf Coast, and the Eastern US.
CNN
Morgan discusses power grid security concerns
EPP’s Granger Morgan discusses the challenges of securing power facilities as physical attacks by domestic extremists increase. Given that high-voltage power lines and facilities are often nestled in remote locations, Morgan warns of the need to better protect the grid and make it more resilient to attacks.
CBS News
Morgan quoted on US power grid security
EPP’s Granger Morgan was quoted on the status of the US power grid in the wake of attacks on two of its substations in North Carolina in December 2022. “We’ve made a bit of progress, but the system is still quite vulnerable,” Morgan told CBS News. Morgan was also quoted on power grid security by USA Today.
Engineering and Public Policy
Morgan discusses North Carolina power grid attack
Engineering and public policy Professor Granger Morgan spoke with CBS News about the “deliberate” attack on two North Carolina substations that cut off power for more than 45,000 people.
the Manufacturing Futures Institute
Guiding the clean energy transition
MFI showcased the future of advanced manufacturing and sustainable practices during the Global Clean Energy Action Forum.
CMU Engineering
Engineering faculty featured in events at GCEAF
Many faculty from across the College of Engineering will be featured at events during this year’s Global Clean Energy Action Forum.
Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation
Interview with the Directors
Since its inception, the Scott Institute has been led by three talented directors paving the way to success. They each share their unique perspective as the Institute turns ten.
Washington Post
Morgan quoted on U.S. power infrastructure
EPP’s Granger Morgan was quoted in a Washington Post article for his opinion on the growing concerns with the United State’s aging power infrastructure.
CBS News
Morgan interviewed on 60 minutes
EPP’s Granger Morgan was interviewed on 60 Minutes on the US power grid facing threats from Russia and domestic terrorists.
Engineering and Public Policy
Amaral's paper considered Highly Commended by The University of Cambridge
Engineering and Public Policy Doctoral Student Afonso Amaral's recent piece, National core competencies and dynamic capabilities in times of crisis - Regulation of ventilators and new market entrants in Portugal versus Spain, has been considered Highly Commended by the 2021 Babbage Industrial Innovation Policy Awards by the Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy department at the University of Cambridge.
The Hill
Morgan and Apt op-ed on decarbonizing electricity published
EPP’s Jay Apt and Granger Morgan published an op-ed on decarbonizing electricity by 2035 in The Hill.
CMU Engineering
Should ships in India switch to shore power?
A team of Carnegie Mellon researchers has answered an important question about the shipping industry for a rapidly modernizing India.
Forbes
Morgan quoted on grid reliability
EPP’s Granger Morgan was quoted by Forbes on creating and maintaining reliable power grids.
The New York Times
Morgan quoted on Trump policy
EPP/ECE’s M. Granger Morgan was quoted in The New York Times on Trump’s relationship with science.
Forbes
Morgan on futurists in science and industry
EPP’s Granger Morgan was quoted by Forbes in an article analyzing the importance of including futurists to planning the world’s energy future. With the rapid changes every year in technology and the world, it is hard for researchers and industries to keep up, and some find it useful to step back, reflect, and consider predictions of the future.
USA Today
Morgan pens op-ed warning against proposed EPA rule change
Under the guise of strengthening transparency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule change that would limit what scientific studies can be used to inform environmental regulation. Only studies using data that can be made completely public would be eligible, eliminating much of the public health literature that relies on personal medical data, which cannot be made public for privacy reasons. EPP’s Granger Morgan argues that the rule change would “dramatically loosen a large number of standards that over the past several decades have been making America’s air and water safer for all of us.”
CMU Engineering
DC can squeeze more power into existing transmission lines
Changing transmission lines from alternating to direct current has been long overlooked, but it may be the cheapest way to boost capacity on our over-taxed grid.
Vox
Morgan and Abdulla study on nuclear power quoted
A Vox article analyzing the debate over nuclear power and climate change referenced a study co-authored by EPP’s Granger Morgan and Ahmed Abdulla about nuclear energy. The article quotes the study to explain how the nuclear power industry is unable to compete in the energy market unless it is significantly subsidized through government policy.
Scott Institute
Eight faculty receive Scott Institute seed grants for energy research
The Scott Institute recently selected awardees from the College of Engineering for its seventh round of seed grants for energy research.
MIT Technology Review
Morgan cited about decreasing nuclear power industry
In an article about nuclear power’s reduced role in the decarbonization in the United States, MIT Technology Review cited a report by EPP’s M. Granger Morgan on the nuclear energy industry, which reported that it was highly unlikely nuclear power would play a role in decarbonization in the U.S.
Axios
EPP faculty weigh in on freight emissions
EPP’s Parth Vaishnav, M Granger Morgan, and Ines Azevedo researched how shipping freight with rail instead of road helps with decarbonization.
CMU Engineering
Is it cleaner to ship freight by rail and water?
Carnegie Mellon University researchers review the ways that goods can be transported via alternate means, such as by rail or water, to reduce both emissions and energy use.
WABE
Morgan discusses troubling future of nuclear
EPP’s Granger Morgan was quoted on WABE about his research into the dwindling number of operating and planned nuclear facilities in the U.S.
Bloomberg BNA and Politico
Morgan discusses the impact of fading nuclear power industry
EPP’s Granger Morgan was quoted in Bloomberg BNA and Politico about his research on the potential negative impact of a truncated nuclear power industry. This means the loss of nuclear power’s ability to cut carbon emissions from the electric power sector. “The way to decarbonize the energy system is with a portfolio of everything we’ve got,” said Morgan. “We find it very troubling that we’ve taken a big chunk of the portfolio that could be used to decarbonize the energy system—we’ve taken it off the table.”
CMU Engineering
The vanishing nuclear industry
Could nuclear power make a significant contribution to decarbonizing the U.S. energy system over the next three or four decades?
FiveThirtyEight
Morgan on how to reverse declining nuclear power
EPP’s Granger Morgan was interviewed by FiveThirtyEight about what contributed to the decline of nuclear power usage in the US and ways that it could possibly be reversed.