2023 News

2023

2022 2024

Dec 18

Quantifying barriers to establishing sequestration wells Opens in new window

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.

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Dec 13

The road ahead for EV adoption is made of gravel

Rural Americans face unique challenges in adopting electric vehicles (EVs). A recent study by Jeremy Michalek suggests that advancing technology could drive EV adoption in all communities, including rural ones.

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Nov 28

Understanding energy behaviors for a more equitable future

Engineering and Public Policy researchers aim to better understand energy-limiting behavior in vulnerable households.

Oct 24

Moonshot grant launches faculty to new heights Opens in new window

The National Network for Critical Technology Assessment (NNCTA), directed by Erica Fuchs, shares their findings in their report, Securing America’s Future: A Framework for Critical Technology Assessment.

Oct 18

Fuchs Appointed to NSTC Board Opens in new window

Erica R.H. Fuchs, Kavčić-Moura Professor in Engineering and Public Policy, has been appointed to the inaugural board of trustees that will oversee the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC).

Oct 17

EPP professors receive College of Engineering faculty awards

Assistant Professor Destenie Nock and Professor Tim Brown won awards which recognize faculty who have displayed excellence in education and research.

Oct 11

Kochanek named 2023-24 Andrew Carnegie Society (ACS) Scholar

EPP senior Sophie Kochanek has been selected as a 2023-24 Andrew Carnegie Society (ACS) Scholar.

Oct 06

Inverter fast frequency response is a low-cost alternative to system inertia

New research from Yamit Lavi and Jay Apt tackles the critical issue of maintaining grid stability in electric grids.

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Oct 03

Man sitting in a chair and playing a video game

CMU team wins Best Presentation Award at NASA competition Opens in new window

A group of Engineering and Public Policy graduate students took home the award for Best Presentation on behalf of the NASA’s Gateways to Blue Skies: Clean Aviation Energy Competition.

Sep 29

Leafless tree branch on a wintery background

Understanding energy behaviors for a more equitable future Opens in new window

By studying energy-limiting behavior related to both heating and cooling in vulnerable households, policies can be modified and developed to address inequities.

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Sep 22

Climate change impacts on future residential electricity consumption and energy burden

In the pursuit of an equitable electricity sector amid the challenges of a warming climate, a team of researchers took a closer look at climate change's impacts on electricity consumption and energy burden.

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Sep 20

Albert Presto named director of CAPS Opens in new window

Albert Presto has been named the director of the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies (CAPS) at Carnegie Mellon University.

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Sep 14

Artistic rendition showing telephone poles, solar panels, and wind turbines

Modeling energy storage for a decarbonized future Opens in new window

Recent study reviews challenges associated with electricity-system planning and suggests how systems could balance eliminating carbon emissions, affordability, and system reliability.

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Aug 24

Samaras named next director, Karplus named associate director of Carnegie Mellon’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation

Costa Samaras has been named the next director of the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, and Valerie Karplus has been named as the associate director of the Scott Institute.

Aug 18

At the intersection of energy policy and global development Opens in new window

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) represent two of the most significant climate-focused pieces of legislation to ever come out of the United States federal government. Over a staggering one trillion dollars are set to be injected into bolstering clean energy, revolutionizing infrastructure, and slashing healthcare costs.

Aug 02

Muller awarded BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania grant

BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania has awarded the Tepper School a grant to support students investigating the intersection of sustainability and business, and these students will be mentored by Nick Muller.

Jul 05

Allen named Women of Influence by Pittsburgh Business Times

Alaine Allen has been named one of the Pittsburgh Business Times’ 2023 Women of Influence.

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Jun 27

Smartphone in foreground with grocery store in background

How sustainable is online grocery delivery? Opens in new window

Researchers investigated the impacts of online grocery delivery on energy use, emissions, and traffic congestion.

Jun 14

Scott Institute Seed Grants Support CMU Energy Projects in Eleventh Annual Round Opens in new window

The Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation’s Seed Grants for Energy Research program will support three research projects in the 2023 cycle.

Jun 12

Decarbonization: Climate change is personal now Opens in new window

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says carbon capture deployment is lagging if we want to meet global mitigation targets. With the stakes so high, why is this the case?

Jun 05

Recognizing Professor Samaras

Professor Costa Samaras has been named the inaugural Policy Impact Award recipient from the Department of Engineering and Public Policy.

May 31

Clipart aerial view of cars in a parking lot

Tech advances will drive the transition to electric vehicles Opens in new window

Researchers found that advances in EV technology will likely bring significant growth to the market, relative to gasoline powered automobiles.

May 22

Flags from different countries flapping in the wind

Karplus publishes review on the politics of environmental policy Opens in new window

Valerie Karplus has co-authored a review in Nature Sustainability on political strategies for achieving environmental policy goals.

May 15

Dr. Phillip Yu to join EPP as Executive Director of Master's Programs

Dr. Phillip Yu will join engineering and public policy in June as executive director of master’s programs.

May 05

Reducing air pollution boosts undergrad’s success Opens in new window

Not every undergraduate research stint leads to a major scientific journal publication, an internship with a federal agency, and a prestigious scholarship, but it did for Lauren Janicke.

Apr 27

Cranor elevated to university professor

Lorrie Cranor has been elevated to the rank of university professor, the highest distinction a faculty member can receive at Carnegie Mellon

Apr 27

Fischhoff co-authors report on lessons from COVID Opens in new window

Baruch Fischhoff co-authored The COVID War, a book evaluating the effectiveness of the government’s COVID response efforts.

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Apr 25

A clipart of multicolored pipes that are intertwined

U.S. natural gas pipelines vulnerable to electric outages Opens in new window

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.

Apr 21

Morin awarded 1st place at CMU Energy Week Poster Competition

Ph.D. student Hannah Morin was awarded 1st place at the 2023 CMU Energy Week Poster Competition.

Apr 14

Jaramillo accepted into ELATES program

Engineering and public policy professor Paulina Jaramillo has been accepted into next year's ELATES fellowship program at Drexel University.

Apr 07

Fischhoff selected to give Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies

Professor Baruch Fischhoff has been selected to give this year's Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies at Oxford University.

Mar 31

Photo of Anthony Cheng, Arnav Gautam, and Jillian Miles

EPP graduate students receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Three EPP graduate students were recently announced as recipients of this year’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship.

Mar 17

Barre wins NCAA Division III Pentathlon National Championship

Liz Barre, a senior doubling majoring in mechanical engineering and engineering and public policy, became the first national indoor track and field champion in the women's track and field program' history on Friday.

Mar 14

Improving air quality in Africa Opens in new window

CMU-Africa, CMU-Pittsburgh, and global collaborators create an air quality testing center in Ghana with new funding from the Clean Air Fund.

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Mar 13

Professor Erica Fuchs to join president’s advisory committee

Professor Erica Fuchs has been nominated by President Biden to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.

Mar 07

Increasing transmission efficiency would cut air pollution

Investment in electrical transmission and distribution (T&D) systems could significantly reduce air pollution.

Feb 24

INDABA partnership launches with $1.5 million from NSF

Valerie Karplus and Paulina Jaramillo have been awarded a $1.5 million grant to establish the Industrial Decarbonization Analysis, Benchmarking, and Action (INDABA) partnership.

Feb 20

Faculty and alum help EPA propose new air quality standard

Professor Peter Adams served on an expert’s panel of the Environmental Protection Agency that has proposed strengthening a key national ambient air quality standard for fine particle pollution.

Feb 15

Photo of Nikhil Kalathil and Afonso Amaral

Amaral and Kalathil receive top prize at Babbage Industrial Innovation Policy Awards

Ph.D. students Afonso Amaral and Nikhil Kalathil were awarded the top prize at the Babbage Industrial Innovation Policy Awards 2022 for their paper.

Feb 08

EPP alum Austin Mitchell discusses new startup intersection of energy and bitcoin Opens in new window

The Scott Institute welcomed CMU alum Austin Mitchell, co-founder and CEO of Synota, for a Distinguished Lecture.

Feb 07

Increasing transmission efficiency would cut air pollution Opens in new window

Researchers identify investment in electricity transmission and distribution systems as significant opportunity for reducing air pollution.

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Feb 03

Donti recieves SIGEnergy Doctoral Dissertation Award

Alumna Priya Donti has been named the recipient of the 2022 ACM SIGEnergy Doctoral Dissertation Award.

Feb 02

Jonathon Cagan, Burcu Akinci, Jeanne VanBriesen

Akinci, Cagan, and VanBriesen named 2022 AAAS Fellows Opens in new window

Burcu Akinci, Jonathan Cagan, and Jeanne VanBriesen, senior faculty members in the College of Engineering, have been named 2022 AAAS Fellows.

Jan 19

Understanding America’s greatest vulnerabilities

Professor Erica Fuchs was featured in The New York Times in an article that focuses on the one-year pilot project for a proposed National Network for Critical Technology Assessment, which Fuchs leads.

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Media mentions

INFORMS Conference

Karplus presents at INFORMS Conference

EPP’s Valerie Karplus presented “How Technological Innovation Could Reshape Iron and Steel Supply Chains” at the INFORMS Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

IEEE Spectrum

Peha weighs in on new Telecommunications Act

EPP’s Jon Peha envisions another category of telecommunications services, and believes that “A new Telecom Act should establish a third category: broadband internet-access services,” and should direct the FCC, of which he previously served as the chief technologist, to expand reports and address cloud storage.

SAN

Peha comments on a false tip reported by AI

EPP’s Jon Peha explains that “AI companies need guardrails when they choose to interact with the real world” in response to Claude providing the Philadelphia Police Department with a false tip about a real homicide case.

PCMag

Peha comments on unprecedented dynamic pricing by SpaceX

EPP’s Jon Peha was quoted on the new dynamic pricing that now quarterly affects all users with Starlink’s broadband connection and equipment.

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rEPPort

rEPPort is the Department of Engineering and Public Policy’s bi-annual newsletter.