About
The energy transition that is under way represents a once in a generation opportunity. Climate change is a tough problem but we can and we will solve it. We don't need to sacrifice prosperity to solve climate change - we need to build our way to abundance by unleashing American innovation and making it easier, not harder, to deploy the clean technologies that will power our economy and protect our kids' future.
Our research group develops the knowledge to support breakthrough technologies that reduce pollution and contribute to new ways of building the things we need each day: turning industrial waste into stronger concrete, storing massive amounts of clean energy underground, and finding ways to increase the resilience of our energy infrastructure. Also recognizing that technology is a tool and that people, markets, and culture all matter is important for doing solutions oriented research focused on the energy transition.
Bio
From developing new materials that capture carbon to modeling how entire states can eliminate pollution, I'm working to show that the solutions we need aren't just possible - they're within reach if we choose to build them. I am trained as an environmental engineer and energy transition policy leader working with interdisciplinary teams to accelerate industrial decarbonization and energy system transformation. I am a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia. I am also the Associate Director of the University of Virginia Environmental Institute. During the Biden Administration I served as the Assistant Director for Industrial Decarbonization at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where I lead strategic initiatives to reduce emissions from heavy industry and develops policy frameworks for emerging carbon management technologies. I've also been a Fulbright Fellow, worked internationally as a visiting scholar in Spain, Argentina, and the Netherlands, and served on key National Science Foundation committees that shape how America invests in environmental research. I served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic between my undergraduate work at the University of Virginia and my MSE and PhD at the University of Michigan.