Climate and environment

We seek policy solutions that effectively address environmental issues using a synthesis of perspectives from the sciences and other disciplines. Our research in critical factors, including greenhouse gasses, atmospheric particulates and aerosols, and climate-related decision-making, has helped us affect policy change.

Research videos

Faculty

Peter Adams

Thomas Lord Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy

Courtesy Appointment
Chemical Engineering

Email: petera@andrew.cmu.edu

Full bio

Neil Donahue

Thomas Lord Professor
Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Engineering and Public Policy

Director
Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research

Email: nmd@andrew.cmu.edu

Full bio

Baruch Fischhoff

Howard Heinz University Professor
Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology

Email: baruch@cmu.edu

Full bio

Paulina Jaramillo

Trustee Professor
Engineering and Public Policy

Courtesy Appointment
CMU-Africa

Email: paulina@cmu.edu

Full bio

Valarie Karplus

Professor
Engineering and Public Policy

Associate Director
Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation

Email: vkarplus@andrew.cmu.edu

Full bio

Jeremy Michalek

Professor
Engineering and Public Policy, Mechanical Engineering

Email: jmichalek@cmu.edu

Full bio

M. Granger Morgan

Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy, Heinz College

Email: granger.morgan@andrew.cmu.edu

Full bio

Kate Whitefoot

Associate Professor
Engineering and Public Policy, Mechanical Engineering

Courtesy Appointment
Heinz College

Email: kwhitefoot@cmu.edu

Full bio

Related news

To go further, these drones take the bus Opens in new window

As drone delivery expands in cities, CMU researchers are exploring a novel idea: drones that “hitchhike” on buses and other transit to extend range, enabling faster, more efficient deliveries.

An upstream battle: Fishing policy in Alaska Opens in new window

Researchers look at whether salmon fishing management policies in the Yukon River actually balance ecological goals with the needs of the communities that depend on them.

Leveraging blast furnace operations to reduce emissions Opens in new window

A recent study analyzed the variations in operations across the global blast furnace fleet and its impact on carbon dioxide emissions, finding that emissions could have been reduced both globally and nationally if each furnace had operated at either its own historical minimum emissions intensity or the observed national minimum.

Smart charging EVs may reverse power system emissions

Researchers found that the timing of when you charge an electric vehicle may impact power system emissions and potentially even reverse them.

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How electric vehicles can power infrastructure change Opens in new window

College of Engineering researchers found that increased electric vehicle adoption can trigger new investment in sustainable energy generation and storage, making vehicle infrastructure greener.

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Accelerating green steel Opens in new window

In an annual gathering at CMU, global decarbonization leaders worked toward tackling the challenge of decarbonizing steel production while meeting increasing world-wide demand.

EPP research will help workers navigate evolving technology

Carnegie Mellon was awarded a $500,000 planning grant from the Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) to analyze the skills of the regional workforce and develop tools to match workers with jobs.

Hubs: A step towards a hydrogen future? Opens in new window

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.

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US industrial policy may strengthen EV battery supply chain Opens in new window

The Inflation Reduction Act offers incentives for diversifying the EV battery supply chain and reducing US dependence on China, but the potential impact of loopholes remains to be seen.

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INDABA partnership convenes industry stakeholders in Beijing, tours decarbonized iron production

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Tsinghua Universities met in July with academic and industry partners in Beijing, where they examined ways to accelerate the decarbonization of the iron and steel industry, focusing on China.

Building an equitable, inclusive and prosperous future

A commitment to the pursuit of economic justice, and thereby to a sustainable future, is reflected in Carnegie Mellon University’s research, education and practice. From the classroom to the community, CMU’s students, faculty and staff are partnering to help economies thrive while fostering a healthy environment.

Charged to make change

Hannah Morin, a dual Ph.D. major in materials science and engineering and engineering and public policy, began her tenure in GSA as a representative in the assembly for EPP, and has since progressed to vice president of campus affairs, and has now been president of the organization since December 2022.

Hart receives George Washington Prize

Undergraduate senior Katie Hart, who is pursuing a double major in engineering and public policy and civil and environmental engineering, has recently been honored with the 2024 George Washington Prize.

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.

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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Understanding energy behaviors for a more equitable future

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

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.

Increasing transmission efficiency would cut air pollution

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

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.

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.

Michalek and NASEM team inform national low-carbon fuel policy

A report co-authored by professor Jeremy Michalek has been published by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to evaluate methods for assessing greenhouse gas emissions of transportation fuels.

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Three questions with Destenie Nock

Destenie Nock is focused on applying high-level mathematical modeling to real-world issues in energy systems planning and equality. Her recent work has involved creating an energy equity metric that illustrates the socioeconomic divide in access to energy.

Donahue wins ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology

Neil Donahue has been selected to receive the 2023 American Chemical Society (ACS) Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science & Technology.

Open Energy Outlook Initiative launches with first report

Today, Carnegie Mellon University has launched the Open Energy Outlook (OEO) Initiative to develop and provide stakeholders with open-access models and databases to inform energy and climate policy related to U.S. energy futures.

Team creating tool to support climate resilience and development across sub-Saharan Africa

Professor Paulina Jaramillo is part of a team that has been granted $5.5 million by the Rockefeller Foundation to accelerate economic development and promote climate resilient infrastructure investment across sub-Saharan Africa. Over the 3-year project, the team will create a novel digital platform using new research, publicly available data sets, satellite data, and machine learning techniques.

A critical window to align ML with climate change mitigation

Ph.D. student Priya Donti has co-authored a perspective piece in Nature Climate Change outlining a systematic framework for describing the effects of AI on greenhouse gas emissions.

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Jaramillo to join Andrew Carnegie Fellows Forum on climate action

Engineering and Public Policy’s Professor Paulina Jaramillo will join fellow Andrew Carnegie Fellows and the Carnegie Corporation for a virtual panel discussion on climate change. The discussion will address complex considerations highlighted by the recent 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), including the human impact of climate change, new technologies to address it, and global energy needs.

SCS faculty, Ph.D. student named to MIT Technology Review’s 2021 Innovators Under 35 list

Virginia Smith, an assistant professor in the Machine Learning Department, and Priya Donti, a Ph.D. candidate in the Computer Science and Engineering and Public Policy departments, have been named to MIT Technology Review’s prestigious annual list of Innovators Under 35.

Air quality–related health damages of food

A new research paper from Nina Domingo and collaborators at University of Minnesota, with collaboration from EPP co-authors Peter Adams, Nick Muller, Spyros Pandis, Allen Robinson, Peter Tschofen and others, that was recently featured in The Washington Post, shows how food production negatively impacts human health by increasing atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and identifies ways to reduce these negative impacts of agriculture.

Improving cost estimates for low-carbon technologies

Professor Ed Rubin (EPP/MechE), together with a team of 13 other university, industrial, and governmental collaborators, has co-authored a newly released white paper providing comprehensive guidelines for the cost estimation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and other low-carbon technologies that are crucial to combating climate change.

The risks of communicating extreme climate forecasts

For decades, climate change researchers and activists have used dramatic forecasts to attempt to influence public perception of the problem and as a call to action on climate change. These forecasts have frequently been for events that might be called “apocalyptic,” because they predict cataclysmic events resulting from climate change. In a new paper published in the International Journal of Global Warming, Carnegie Mellon University’s David Rode and Paul Fischbeck argue that making such forecasts can be counterproductive.

New publication from Adams, Muller, Robinson, and Sergi

In their recently published paper, Optimizing Emissions Reductions from the U.S. Power Sector for Climate and Health Benefits, EPP alum Brian Sergi, along with EPP professors Peter Adams, Nick Muller, Allen Robinson, and former EPP professor Inês Azevedo, find that climate policy that incorporates health objectives can result in substantial additional benefits by prioritizing emissions reductions in places where health damages are greatest.

Mohan and Muller blog post, "Monetary damages – a better measure of sustainability than emissions?"

In a recently published blog post in PRI, EPP PhD student Aniruddh Mohan and EPP Professor Nicholas Muller use their paper, The Growth of Nations Revisited: Global Environmental Accounting from 1998 to 2018, to argue that what matters to societal welfare is not the physical tonnage of emissions, but the monetary damage caused by them.

EPP faculty and alums research flows of particulate matter damage in the U.S.

In a new study, EPP Ph.D. alums Brian Sergi (’19) and Inês Azevedo (’09), along with EPP Professor Nick Muller and Steve Davis find that emissions flows across U.S. county lines plays an important role in health damages from air pollution.

Cutting vehicle emissions and inspections via IoT

A new system using remote data transfers and machine learning could cut vehicle emissions, lower testing costs, and drastically reduce the need for in-person emissions testing.

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