Energy systems

The world must make fundamental transformations in how we use and produce energy. Our teaching and research focus on how we design, operate, and regulate energy systems so they meet the needs of society.

Research videos

Faculty

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

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

Mind the gap: Testing the EV charging network Opens in new window

Researchers develop a metric to measure the gaps in EV charging coverage across the country, revealing the significant work that lies ahead in deploying charging infrastructure.

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Nock named 2024 Science Defender

Dr. Destenie Nock, assistant professor of Engineering and Public Policy and Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been named a 2024 Science Defender by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

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.

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.

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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Zuetell awarded “best student presentation” at sustainability conference

Emily Zuetell, a fourth-year PhD student in engineering and public policy and civil and environmental engineering, won the Best Student Presentation award at this year’s International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies (ISSST) conference.

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.

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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.

Understanding energy behaviors for a more equitable future

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

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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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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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.

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.

Donti recieves SIGEnergy Doctoral Dissertation Award

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

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.

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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.

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.

Nock receives Sloan Foundation funding to examine household energy insecurity

Destenie Nock was recently awarded funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to conduct a multi-year project to examine how household energy insecurity is experienced by different demographic groups at the state and national levels.

Equity issues central for getting household electrification right 'for everybody'

Destenie Nock spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about energy equity. In Nock's view, despite the promise of savings, equity issues will make it a challenge for the most energy-burdened households to take advantage of a movement toward heating more houses with electric power.

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How Texas electricity regulators can use markets to make the grid more reliable

The recent snowstorms and historic low temperatures that ravaged Texas comprised an extreme weather event of a magnitude not seen in decades. Mechanical devices froze at power plants and wind turbine blades iced over, taking generation resources offline at a time when electricity demand was increasing to heat Texas homes that are not insulated against such deep cold.

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.

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.

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