SDSN: America’s Zero Carbon Action Plan and Accelerating Decarbonization in the US: Technology, Policy, and Societal Dimensions

The SDSN USA Network was launched in December 2018 with the mission to implement the SDGs in the US by building and mobilizing a national network of academic institutions. The priority on energy and climate work originated during discussions at the SDSN USA launch, in response to a need for an actionable national strategy for a just transition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. This project builds on the SDSN Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project, which published its report in 2015 and then a 350 PPM Pathways for the United States report in 2019. The 2019 report describes the changes in the U.S. energy system required to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to a level consistent with returning atmospheric concentrations to 350 parts per million (350 ppm) in 2100, achieving net negative CO2 emissions by mid-century, and limiting end-of-century global warming to 1°C above pre-industrial levels. This work inspired the Zero Carbon Action Plan (ZCAP) which launched in early 2020.This plan will serve as roadmap for the U.S. based on the latest modeling, research and understanding of decarbonizing six key sectors (power, transport, industry, buildings, food and land use, and materials) supported by technical pathways to zero carbon by 2050, as well as supporting policy recommendations. 
The ZCAP was designed by a cohort of nearly 100 researchers and 19 Chairs who make up the Zero Carbon Consortium, who are experts in their fields of climate change policy; clean energy pathways modeling; industrial policy high-employment green economies; legislative and regulatory policy; electricity (power) generation; transportation; industry; buildings; sustainable land-use; and sustainable materials management. The report will be anchored in the modeling results from Evolved Energy Research (EER) and will look at the policy recommendations available to support the transition of energy infrastructure throughout the country in line with carbon neutrality by mid-century. Analysis will be done at multiple levels so that national, state, and city policies are illuminated to support the transition nationally. 
This report is available for download and seeks to provide an action plan for comprehensive climate change mitigation to inform policy makers, business leaders, and civil society more broadly across jurisdictions. 
If you would like to learn more or work with us through a partnership, please get in touch with one of the project managers.

CO2 is the largest driver of climate change and the greenhouse gas most intimately integrated into the U.S. economy and way of life. This ad hoc committee will examine the status of technologies, policies, and societal factors needed for decarbonization and recommend research and policy needs, focused on the near and midterm (5-20 years). Specific questions that will be addressed by the committee include sectoral interactions and systems impacts; technology research, development, and deployment at scale; social, institutional, and behavioral dimensions, particularly equity; and policy coordination and sequencing at local, state, and federal levels. Provide feedback on this project

Description

Building off the needs identified at the Deployment of Deep Decarbonization Technologies workshop in July 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will appoint an ad hoc consensus committee to assess the technological, policy, social, and behavioral dimensions to accelerate the decarbonization of the U.S. economy. The focus is on emission reduction and removal of CO2, which is the largest driver of climate change and the greenhouse gas most intimately integrated into the U.S. economy and way of life. The scope of the study is necessarily broad and takes a systemic, cross-sector approach. The committee will summarize the status of technologies, policies, and societal factors needed for decarbonization and recommend research and policy needs. It will focus its findings and recommendations on near and mid-term (5-20 years) high- value policy improvements and research investments and approaches required to put the United States on a path to achieve long-term net zero emissions. This consensus study will also provide the foundation for a larger Academies’ initiative on Deep Decarbonization.The committee will produce an interim report and a final report. The interim report will provide an assessment of no regrets policies, strategies, and research directions that provide benefits across a spectrum of low carbon futures. The final report will assess a wider spectrum of technological, policy, social, and behavioral dimensions of deep decarbonization and their interactions. Specific questions that will be addressed in the final report include the following:
• Sectoral interactions and systems impacts—How do changes in one sector (e.g., transportation) impact other sectors (e.g., electric power) and what positive and negative systems level impacts arise through these interactions; how should the understanding of sectoral interactions impact choices related to technologies and policies? 
• Technology research, development, and deployment at scale—What are the technological challenges and opportunities for achieving deep decarbonization, including in challenging activities like air travel and heavy processing; what research, development, and demonstration efforts can accelerate the technologies; how can financing and capital effectively support decarbonization; what are key metrics for tracking progress in deployment and scale up of technologies and key measurements for tracking emissions?
• Social, institutional, and behavioral dimensions—What are the societal, institutional, behavioral, and equity drivers and implications of deep decarbonization; how do the impacts of deep decarbonization differ across states, regions, and urban versus rural areas and how can equity issues be identified and the uneven distribution of impacts be addressed; and what is the role of the private sector in achieving emissions reductions, including companies influence on their external supply chains; what are the economic opportunities associated with deep decarbonization; and what are the workforce and human capital needs?
• Policy coordination and sequencing at local, state, and federal levels—What near-term policy developments at local, state, and federal levels are driving decarbonization; how can policies be sequenced to best achieve near, medium, and long-term goals; and what synergies exist between mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and economic development?
The study will coordinate with and leverage other efforts within the Academies and outside groups that cover energy technologies, innovation, science, behavior, and policy. The committee will have expertise across engineering, policy, social and behavioral sciences, economics, and the physical sciences.

Project Scope:Building off the needs identified at the Deployment of Deep Decarbonization Technologies workshop in July 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will appoint an ad hoc consensus committee to assess the technological, policy, social, and behavioral dimensions to accelerate the decarbonization of the U.S. economy. The focus is on emission reduction and removal of CO2, which is the largest driver of climate change and the greenhouse gas most intimately integrated into the U.S. economy and way of life. The scope of the study is necessarily broad and takes a systemic, cross-sector approach. The committee will summarize the status of technologies, policies, and societal factors needed for decarbonization and recommend research and policy needs. It will focus its findings and recommendations on near and mid-term (5-20 years) high- value policy improvements and research investments and approaches required to put the United States on a path to achieve long-term net zero emissions. This consensus study will also provide the foundation for a larger Academies’ initiative on Deep Decarbonization.The committee will produce an interim report and a final report. The interim report will provide an assessment of no regrets policies, strategies, and research directions that provide benefits across a spectrum of low carbon futures. The final report will assess a wider spectrum of technological, policy, social, and behavioral dimensions of deep decarbonization and their interactions. Specific questions that will be addressed in the final report include the following:
• Sectoral interactions and systems impacts—How do changes in one sector (e.g., transportation) impact other sectors (e.g., electric power) and what positive and negative systems level impacts arise through these interactions; how should the understanding of sectoral interactions impact choices related to technologies and policies? 
• Technology research, development, and deployment at scale—What are the technological challenges and opportunities for achieving deep decarbonization, including in challenging activities like air travel and heavy processing; what research, development, and demonstration efforts can accelerate the technologies; how can financing and capital effectively support decarbonization; what are key metrics for tracking progress in deployment and scale up of technologies and key measurements for tracking emissions?
• Social, institutional, and behavioral dimensions—What are the societal, institutional, behavioral, and equity drivers and implications of deep decarbonization; how do the impacts of deep decarbonization differ across states, regions, and urban versus rural areas and how can equity issues be identified and the uneven distribution of impacts be addressed; and what is the role of the private sector in achieving emissions reductions, including companies influence on their external supply chains; what are the economic opportunities associated with deep decarbonization; and what are the workforce and human capital needs?
• Policy coordination and sequencing at local, state, and federal levels—What near-term policy developments at local, state, and federal levels are driving decarbonization; how can policies be sequenced to best achieve near, medium, and long-term goals; and what synergies exist between mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and economic development?
The study will coordinate with and leverage other efforts within the Academies and outside groups that cover energy technologies, innovation, science, behavior, and policy. The committee will have expertise across engineering, policy, social and behavioral sciences, economics, and the physical sciences.

Status: Current

PIN: DEPS-BEES-19-01

Project Duration (months): 20 month(s)RSO: Holmes, John

Division(s):

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Division on Earth and Life Studies
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Health and Medicine Division
National Academy of Engineering
Policy and Global Affairs
Transportation Research Board
Board(s)/Committee(s):

Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources
Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Board on Environmental Change and Society
Board on Energy and Environmental Systems
Board on Earth Sciences and Resources
Transportation Research Board Consensus and Advisory Studies Division
National Academy of Engineering Office of Programs
Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Topic(s):

Energy and Energy Conservation
Engineering and Technology
Environment and Environmental Studies
Transportation and Infrastructure
Policy for Science and Technology

Geographic Focus:
North America

Committee Membership

Committee Post Date: 02/13/2020

Stephen W. Pacala – (Chair)
Stephen W. Pacala is the Frederick D. Petrie Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. He directs the Carbon Mitigation Initiative, an effort to develop solutions to the greenhouse warming problem. Steve is also a founder and Chairman of the Board of Climate Central, a nonprofit media organization focusing on climate change. He chaired the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration, which released its report in 2018. His research covers a wide variety of ecological and mathematical topics with an emphasis on interactions between greenhouse gases, climate and the biosphere. Dr. Pacala has an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1978 and a Ph. D. in biology from Stanford University in 1982. He serves on the boards of the Environmental Defense Fund and Hamilton Insurance Group. Among his many honors are the David Starr Jordan Prize and the George Mercer Award of the Ecological Society of America. Dr. Pacala is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Colin Cunliff
Colin Cunliff is a senior policy analyst in clean energy innovation policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a non-partisan think tank and research organization. He previously worked at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on climate mitigation and energy sector resilience. At DOE, he contributed to the Quadrennial Energy Review: Transforming the Nation’s Electricity System, a national roadmap to modernize the U.S. electricity system. Prior to that, he served as the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Congressional Fellow in the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), where he served as a staff science adviser on energy, climate, and transportation. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Davis, and a bachelors of science in physics and mathematics from the University of Texas, Austin.
Danielle Deane-Ryan
Danielle Deane-Ryan is an independent consultant, climate and clean energy equity expert, and diversity champion who has devoted the past two decades to forging equitable solutions to climate change. Most recently Danielle served as director of the Inclusive Clean Economy Program at The Nathan Cummings Foundation where she stewarded over 20% of the annual grantmaking and co-authored the recent Solar with Justice report in collaboration with the Clean Energy States Alliance. Danielle served in the Obama Administration as Senior Advisor for External Affairs and Acting Director for Stakeholder Engagement at the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. Prior, she held roles at The Raben Group, serving as Green 2.0’s founding executive director; the Hewlett Foundation, where she ran the New Constituencies for the Environment Program; and served on the National Academies of Sciences Gulf Research Program’s Advisory Board. Danielle has an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics in environment and development, and a B.A. from Williams College in political economy with an environmental studies concentration. She was awarded a 2019 Bicentennial Medal by Williams College for her work to advance environmental justice. She is originally from Trinidad & Tobago.
Julia H. Haggerty
Julia Haggerty is Associate Professor of Geography in the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University, where she holds a joint appointment in the Montana Institute on Ecosystems. She received her BA from Colorado College in Liberal Arts and her PhD from the University of Colorado in History. An award-winning teacher, Haggerty teaches courses in human, economic and energy resource geography at MSU. She also leads the Resources & Communities Research Group in studying the ways rural communities respond to shifting economic and policy trajectories, especially as they involve natural resources. Haggerty has expertise in diverse rural geographies including those shaped by energy development, extractive industries, ranching and agriculture, and amenity development and conservation. Partnerships and collaboration with diverse stakeholders are central to her approach. Prior to joining MSU, Haggerty was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Otago in New Zealand (2005-2007) and a Policy Analyst with Headwaters Economics in Bozeman, Montana (2008-2013). Haggerty speaks frequently to public audiences about her research and has served on a number of boards and advisory committees from local to international scales.
Chris T. Hendrickson
Christopher T. Hendrickson (NAE) is the Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering Emeritus, Director of the Traffic 21 Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, chair of the TRB Division Committee and Editor-in-Chief of the ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering Part A (Systems). His research, teaching and consulting are in the general area of engineering planning and management, including transportation systems, design for the environment, system performance, construction project management, finance and computer applications. Central themes in his work are a systems wide perspective and a balance of engineering and management considerations. He has co-authored eight books and published numerous articles in the professional literature. Prof. Hendrickson has been the recipient of the Council of University Transportation Centers Lifetime Achievement Award (2020), the ARTBA Steinburg Award (2019), the Faculty Award of the Carnegie Mellon Alumni Association (2009), Turner Lecture Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers (2002), the Fenves Systems Research Award from the Institute of Complex Engineering Systems (2002). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Construction (2014), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2007), a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (2007) and an Emeritus Member of the Transportation Research Board (2004). He earned bachelor‘s and M.S. degrees from Stanford University, an M.Phil. degree in economics from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Jesse Jenkins
Jesse Jenkins is an assistant professor at Princeton University with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. He is an energy systems engineer with a focus on the rapidly evolving electricity sector, including the transition to zero-carbon resources, the proliferation of distributed energy resources, and the role of electricity in economy-wide decarbonization. Jesse’s research focuses on improving and applying optimization-based energy systems models to evaluate low-carbon energy technologies, policy options, and robust decisions under deep uncertainty. Jesse completed a Ph.D. in engineering systems and M.S. in technology and policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. in computer and information science at the University of Oregon. He worked previously as a postdoctoral Environmental Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard University Center for the Environment, a researcher at the MIT Energy Initiative, the Director of Energy and Climate Policy at the Breakthrough Institute, and a Policy and Research Associate at Renewable Northwest.
Roxanne Johnson
Roxanne Johnson established and currently directs the research department at the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA), a national coalition of labor unions and environmental groups working to build a stronger, fairer economy. In her current role, she leads BGA’s research efforts to understand job creation opportunities in the clean economy. Her team is responsible for conducting manufacturing and policy research in industries such as wind and solar energy, energy efficiency, advanced vehicles, and infrastructure. Her previous work at the Great Plains Institute focused on communicating model results showing potential impacts of energy and transportation policy. Ms. Johnson earned a B.S. in Mathematics and Environmental Studies from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. She also earned an M.S. in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Timothy C. Lieuwen
Timothy C. Lieuwen, NAE, serves as executive director of the Strategic Energy at the Institute at Georgia Technology. He is also a Regents’ Professor and the David S. Lewis, Jr. Chair in the School of Aerospace Engineering. He is also founder and chief technology officer of TurbineLogic, an analytics firm working in the gas turbine industry. Dr. Lieuwen is an international authority on gas turbine technologies, both from a research and development perspective and from a field/operational perspective. He has authored or edited four books, including the textbook Unsteady Combustor Physics. He has also authored 350 other publications and received four patents, all of which are licensed to the gas turbine industry. He is editor-in-chief of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIAA) Progress book series. He is also past chair of the Combustion, Fuels, and Emissions Technical Committee of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and has served as associate editor of Combustion Science and Technology, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, and AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power. He is a fellow of ASME and AIAA, and a recipient of the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award, ASME’s George Westinghouse Gold Medal, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and various best paper awards. Board positions include appointment by the Secretary of Energy to the National Petroleum Counsel, board of governors of Oak Ridge National Lab, and board member of the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute. He has also served on a variety of federal review and advisory committees. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech. He has served on the Academies’ Review of NASA Test Flight Capabilities and the Decadal Survey of Aeronautics.
Vivian E. Loftness
Vivian Loftness is a University Professor and former Head of the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. She is an internationally renowned researcher, author, and educator with over thirty years of focus on environmental design and sustainability, advanced building systems integration, climate and regionalism in architecture, and design for performance in the workplace of the future. She has served on ten National Academy of Science (NAS) panels, the NAS Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment and has given four Congressional testimonies on sustainability. Vivian is recipient of the National Educator Honor Award from the American Institute of Architecture Students and the Sacred Tree Award from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). She received her B.S. and M.S. in Architecture from MIT and served on the National Boards of the USGBC, AIA Committee on the Environment, Green Building Alliance, Turner Sustainability, and the Global Assurance Group of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. She is a registered architect and a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Clark A. Miller
Clark A. Miller is Professor and Director of the Center for Energy & Society at Arizona State University. He leads sustainability research for the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies Engineering Research Center. He also serves as a member of the steering committee of LightWorks, ASU’s university-wide sustainable energy initiative. Dr. Miller’s current research focuses on the human and social dimensions of energy transitions, including the social value of distributed renewable energy systems; strategies for addressing poverty and inequality through energy innovation; the organization of urban and regional energy transitions; and the design and governance of solar energy futures. He is an author or editor of eight books, including The Weight of Light (2019), Designing Knowledge (2018), The Handbook of Science & Technology Studies (2016), The Practices of Global Ethics (2015), Science and Democracy (2015), Nanotechnology, the Brain, and the Future (2013), Arizona’s Energy Future (2011), and Changing the Atmosphere (2001). He has published extensively in the fields of energy policy, science and technology policy, the role of science in democratic governance and international relations, the governance of emerging technologies, and the design of knowledge systems for improved decision-making. He holds a PhD in electrical engineering from Cornell University.
William Pizer
Billy Pizer is the Susan B. King Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research at the Sanford School of Public Policy and Faculty Fellow at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, both at Duke University. He is also a University Fellow at Resources for the Future and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His current research examines how we value the future benefits of climate change mitigation, how environmental regulation and climate policy can affect production costs and competitiveness, and how the design of market-based environmental policies can address the needs of different stakeholders. He has been actively involved in creation of an environmental program at Duke Kunshan University in China, a collaborative venture between Duke University, Wuhan University, and the city of Kunshan. Before coming to Duke, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Energy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2008 to 2011, overseeing Treasury’s role in the domestic and international environment and energy agenda of the United States. Prior to that, he was a researcher at Resources for the Future for more than a decade. He has written more than fifty peer-reviewed publications, books, and articles, and holds a PhD and MA in economics from Harvard University and BS in physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Varun Rai
Varun Rai is an Associate Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs and in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where he directs the Energy Systems Transformation Research Group (aka “Rai Group”). His interdisciplinary research – delving with issues at the interface of energy systems, complex systems, decision science, and public policy – focuses on studying how the interactions between the underlying social, behavioral, economic, technological, and institutional components of the energy system impact the diffusion of energy technologies. Over the last 15 years, his research has applied various analytical lenses to study technologies and policies in carbon capture and storage (CCS), fuels cells, oil & gas, plug-in hybrid vehicles (PEVs), and solar photovoltaics (PV). He has presented at several important forums, including the United States Senate Briefings, Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition, and Global Economic Symposium, and his research group’s work has been discussed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Bloomberg News, among other venues. He was a Global Economic Fellow in 2009 and holds the Elspeth Rostow Centennial Fellowship at the LBJ School. During 2013-2015 he was a commissioner for the vertically-integrated electric utility Austin Energy. In 2016 the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) awarded him the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize, which “was established to honor persons who, at under the age of 40, have made a distinguished contribution to the field of public policy analysis and management.” He received The Eyes of Texas Excellence Award, also in 2016, for making “noteworthy contributions to the UT community.” Dr. Rai has held the position of the Associate Dean for Research for the LBJ School since September 2017. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur.
Ed Rightor
Ed Rightor is the director of the Industrial Program at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). In this role Ed develops and leads the strategic vision for the industrial sector, shapes the research and policy agenda, and convenes stakeholders to accelerate energy efficiency and reductions of GHGs. Prior to joining ACEEE, held several leadership roles at Dow Chemical during his 31 year career. Through 2017, he served as the director of strategic projects in Dow’s Environmental Technology Center. In this role he worked with Dow businesses, operations and corporate groups, to reduce air emissions, waste, freshwater intake, and energy use. He also served as the facilitator of Dow’s Corporate Water Strategy Team, led teams to establish and pursue Dow’s 2025 Sustainability Goals, including the first ever water goal. Working across global industrial associations, he spearheaded a roadmap for the chemical industry on paths to reduce energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In prior roles, he developed GHG and energy reduction options across Dow’s global operations and pursued project funding and implementation. Earlier, he started a new market facing business in the energy sector, led cross-functional teams to optimize processes (six sigma), pioneered technology that led to new materials development, and led teams to troubleshoot production challenges. He earned a doctorate in chemistry from Michigan State University and a bachelor of science in chemistry from Marietta College
Kelly Sims Gallagher
Kelly Sims Gallagher is Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. She directs the Climate Policy Lab and the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at Fletcher. From June 2014-September 2015 she served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and as Senior China Advisor in the Special Envoy for Climate Change office at the U.S. State Department. Gallagher is a member of the board of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and she also serves on the board of the Energy Foundation. Broadly, she focuses on energy innovation and climate policy. She specializes in how policy spurs the development and deployment of cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, domestically and internationally. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of Titans of the Climate (The MIT Press 2018), The Global Diffusion of Clean Energy Technologies: Lessons from China (MIT Press 2014), China Shifts Gears: Automakers, Oil, Pollution, and Development (The MIT Press 2006), and dozens of other publications.
Esther S. Takeuchi
Esther Takeuchi, NAE, is a professor at Stony Brook University and a chief scientist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. She is an energy storage expert who led efforts to invent and refine the lifesaving lithium/silver vanadium oxide (Li/SVO) battery technology, utilized in the majority of today’s implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Takeuchi’s work was conducted during 22 years at Greatbatch, Inc., a major supplier of pacemaker and ICD batteries. ICD batteries have high energy density with the ability to support intermittent high-power pulses. In addition, they have a long life, are safe, and durable. In Takeuchi’s innovation, the cathodes employ two metals, silver and vanadium, rather than just one, allowing for more energy. In addition, the Li/SVO chemistry lets the ICD monitor the level of discharge, allowing it to predict end of service in a reliable manner. Today, over 300,000 ICDs are implanted every year. Raised in Ohio, Takeuchi received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. She joined Greatbatch, Inc. in 1984, and in 2007, she joined the University at Buffalo. Takeuchi has received over 140 U.S. patents and is the recipient of the 2008 National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Susan F. Tierney
Susan Tierney, a Senior Advisor at Analysis Group, is an expert on energy economics, regulation, and policy, particularly in the electric and gas industries. She consults to businesses, government agencies, foundations, tribes, environmental groups, and other organizations on energy markets, economic and environmental regulation and strategy, and climate-related energy policies. She has participated as an expert in civil litigation cases, regulatory proceedings before state and federal agencies, and business consulting engagements. Previously, she served as the Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy, and was the Secretary for Environmental Affairs in Massachusetts, Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Council. She co-authored the energy chapter of the National Climate Assessment, and serves on the boards of ClimateWorks Foundation, Barr Foundation, Energy Foundation, Resources for the Future, and World Resources Institute. She taught at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT and at the University of California at Irvine, and has lectured at Harvard University, University of Chicago, Yale University, New York University, Tufts University, Northwestern University, and University of Michigan. She earned her Ph.D. and master’s in regional planning at Cornell University and her B.A. at Scripps College.
Jennifer Wilcox
Jennifer Wilcox is the James H. Manning Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Wilcox’s research takes aim at the nexus of energy and the environment, developing both mitigation and adaptation strategies to minimize negative climate impacts associated with society’s dependence on fossil fuels. This work carefully examines the role of carbon management and opportunities therein that could assist in preventing 2° C warming by 2100. Carbon management includes a mix of technologies spanning from the direct removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to its capture from industrial, utility-scale and micro-emitter (motor vehicle) exhaust streams, followed by utilization or reliable storage of carbon dioxide on a timescale and magnitude that will have a positive impact on our current climate change crisis. Funding for her research is primarily sourced through the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and the private sector. She has served on a number of committees including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Physical Society to assess carbon capture methods and impacts on climate. She is the author of the first textbook on carbon capture, published in March 2012.