Energy Graduate Group Faculty

The EEI has nearly 50 affiliated faculty from departments across UC Davis. These faculty are affiliated with the Energy Graduate Group (EGG).

Energy efficiency expert working on sustainable solutions at UC Davis.
  • Associate Professor, Land, Air, Water Resource
Researcher working on energy efficiency projects at UC Davis Energy Efficiency Institute.
  • Assistant Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Research Interests: Thermal Environment Modelling, HVAC Systems, Renewable Energy, Precision Livestock Farming
Gwen Arnold
  • Associate Professor, Environmental Science and Policy
  • Co-Director, Center for Environmental Behavior
Research Interests: Hydraulic fracturing; regulation and policymaking
Shota Atsumi
  • Associate Professor, Chemistry
Research Interests: Biofuels
Louise Berben
  • Professor, Chemistry
Research Interests: Solar fuels; CO2 conversion; hydrogen production
Catherine Brinkley
  • Assistant Professor, Human Ecology
Research Interests: City and regional planning; place-based policies and interventions; food-energy-water nexus; integrating agricultural ecosystems with urban areas; district heating
David Bunch
  • Professor, Graduate School of Management
Research Interests: Consumer choice behavior and modeling; decision and management sciences
James Bushnell
  • Professor, Economics
Research Interests: Energy markets; utility regulation; climate change; environmental regulation
Colin Carter
  • Distinguished Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics
  • Associate Director, UC Agricultural Issues Center
Research Interests: Commodity markets; international trade; China’s rural economy
Andre Daccache
  • Assistant Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Research Interests: Agriculture water management; irrigation & hydraulic engineering; crop & climate change modeling
J.P. Delplanque
  • Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Director, California Small Hydro Collaborative
Research Interests: Combustion; hydropower; modeling and simulation
Irwin R Donis-Gonzalez
  • Assistant Postharvest Engineering Specialist, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Research Interests: Postharvest engineering, handling, traceability & processing of agricultural commodities; reducing energy consumption
Matt Ellis
  • Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering
Research Interests: Control optimization of energy systems
Paul Erickson
  • Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Heat & mass transfer enhancement of reacting flows; fuel cell, hybrid drive & electric vehicles; energy systems
Zhiliang (Julia) Fan
  • Associate Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
  • Energy Graduate Group Advisor for Science and Technology track
Research Interests: Biofuels; metabolic engineering; fermentation; process modeling
530-754-0317
Energy efficiency expert Fan Yueyue at UC Davis promoting sustainable energy solutions.
  • Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Davis
Research Interests: Transportation, Energy Systems
Beth Ferguson
  • Assistant Professor, Design
Research Interests: Renewable energy; transportation fuels; energy efficiency
Annaleise Franz
  • Associate Professor, Chemistry
Research Interests: Biofuels, catalysis; chemical transformations to produce biofuels
Scott Hardman
  • Professional Researcher, Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center
Research Interests: Low carbon & innovative vehicle technologies
Energy efficiency expert at UC Davis Energy Efficiency Institute.
  • Professor of Technology Management, Graduate School of Management
  • Charles J. Soderquist Chair in Entrepreneurship, Graduate School of Management
Research Interests: Energy efficiency design and management
530-752-2277
John Harvey
  • Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Chair, Transportation Technology and Policy Graduate Group
  • Director, University of California Pavement Research Center
Research Interests: Life cycle assessment; pavement engineering; alternative material development
Rebecca Hernandez
  • Associate Professor, Land, Air, Water Resources
  • Director, Wild Energy Center
Research Interests: Environmental aspects of energy; renewable energy; sustainability science
Bryan Jenkins
  • Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
  • Chair/Director, California Renewable Energy Center
Research Interests: Energy systems; optimization; thermochemical conversion
Jenn and Alan discussing energy-saving strategies at UC Davis.
  • Chair, Energy Graduate Group
  • Assistant Professor, Institute of Transportation Studies
Research Interests: Alternative fuel vehicle adoption; transition to sustainable energy systems; quantitative policy analysis; big data statistical analysis
Tina Jeoh
  • Associate Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Research Interests: Cellulosic biofuels; bioconversion
Katrina Jessoe
  • Associate Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics
Research Interests: Environmental and energy economics; consumer and firm behavior
Alissa Kendall, energy efficiency specialist at UC Davis Energy Institute.
  • Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Associate Director, ITS-Davis
  • Ray B. Krone Endowed Professor of Environmental Engineering
Research Interests: Life cycle assessment; renewable energy; transportation energy
530-752-5722
Isaya Kisseka
  • Assistant Professor, Land, Air and Water Resources and Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Research Interests: Agricultural hydrology & water management; irrigation engineering; crop modeling & decision support
Kelly Kissock smiling in professional attire at the Energy Efficiency Institute.
  • Faculty Director, Energy and Efficiency Institute
  • Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Chevron Endowed Chair in Energy Efficiency
Research Interests: Building and industrial energy efficiency; industrial decarbonization, process integration and heat pumps; renewable energy
530-752-4909
Portrait of Kurt Kornbluth, researcher at Energy Efficiency Institute.
  • Assistant Adjunct Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
  • Director, Program for International Energy Technologies & D-Lab
  • Associate Director, UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies
Research Interests: Climate neutrality, energy efficiency; consumer behavior; renewable energy technologies
Marina Leite
  • Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
Research Interests: Energy harvesting & storage systems; functional properties of materials; materials processing
Energy efficiency expert Barbara Linke smiling in lab.
  • Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis
  • Director of the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sustainable Technologies Research
Research Interests: Sustainable manufacturing and engineering
Frank Loge, Energy Efficiency Institute, UC Davis, smiling outdoors.
  • Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Director, Center for Water-Energy Efficiency
  • Krone Endowed Professor in Environmental Engineering
  • Energy Graduate Group Advisor for Policy and Management track
Research Interests: Information technology; water/energy nexus; water/health; conservation; sustainable systems & technologies
530-754-2297
Mark Mascal
  • Professor, Chemistry
Research Interests: Integrated biorefinery; renewable fuels and materials; biomass valorization; biomass-derived platform chemicals
Energy efficiency expert Alan Meier smiling outdoors.
  • Adjunct Professor, Environmental Science and Policy
  • Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • Energy Graduate Group - Admissions Chair
Research Interests: Energy efficiency; energy demand; economics; behavior and energy use
510-486-4740
Sabbie Miller at the Energy Efficiency Institute, promoting sustainable energy solutions.
  • Faculty Director, Materials Decarbonization and Sustainability Center
  • Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Interests: Life cycle assessment; alternative materials development; sustainability and structural design
Energy efficiency expert Brett Milligan at UC Davis.
  • Associate Professor and Vice Chair, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design
Research Interests: Multi-benefit climate change adaptation ; Transdisciplinary design practices ; Critical infrastructural studies ; Landscape fieldwork, ethnography, modeling, surveying and geospatial mapping
505-980-1761
An image of Mark Modera, a professional in energy efficiency, smiling in an office setting.
  • Associate Director, Western Cooling Efficiency Center
  • Professor Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Professor Emeritus, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: End-use energy efficiency; energy distribution systems; building energy management; ventilation and indoor air quality
530-754-7671
Frances Moore
  • Assistant Professor, Environmental Science and Policy
Research Interests: Economic and social impacts of climate change; energy-water-food nexus
Portrait of Adam Moule, energy efficiency expert at UC Davis Energy Institute.
  • Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering and Material Sciences
  • Energy Graduate Group Advisor-Science & Technology Track
Research Interests: Solar materials
530-754-8669
Erich Muehlegger
  • Associate Professor, Economics
Research Interests: Regulation and taxation of energy markets; industrial organization; public finance; environmental policy
Jeremy Munday
  • Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Interests: Photovoltaics; hydrogen technologies
Vinod Narayanan, energy efficiency expert at UC Davis Energy Institute, smiling in a professional se.
  • Sempra Chair in Energy Efficiency
  • Director, Western Cooling Efficiency Center
  • Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: Supercritical CO2; Novel heat-exchanger designs; Waste heat management
Kevin Novan
  • Associate Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics
  • EGG Graduate Advisor-Energy & Policy Management Track
Research Interests: Environmental economics; applied econometrics
530-752-7426
Joan Ogden
  • Professor Emeritus, Environmental Science and Policy
  • Not serving as primary faculty advisor for new students
Research Interests: Alternative fuels; energy transitions; hydrogen and fuel cells; energy infrastructure
Frank Osterloh
  • Professor, Chemistry
Research Interests: Solar energy; photovoltaics; photocatalytic water splitting; hydrogen; nanomaterials
Jae Wan Park
  • Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Director, UC Davis Green Transportation Laboratory
Research Interests: Efficiency energy systems; fuel cells; batteries; electric grid
Theresa Pistochini at the Energy Efficiency Institute, promoting sustainable energy solutions.
  • Co-Director of Engineering, UC Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center
  • Assistant Adjunct Professor
Research Interests: HVAC Systems, Codes and Standards, Ventilation and Filtration
530-752-3262
Alireza Pourreza
  • Assistant Agricultural Mechanization Specialist, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Research Interests: Agricultural mechanization, robotics & automation; precision agriculture & horticulture; machine vision & remote sensing
David Rapson
  • Associate Professor, Economics
Research Interests: Energy economics; energy markets; energy policy
Pamela Ronald
  • Distinguished Professor, Plant Pathology
  • Professor, Genome Center
  • Director, Grass Genetics, The Joint Bioenergy Institute
  • Faculty Director, Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy
Research Interests: Biofuels; grass genetics; cell wall biosynthesis
Angela Sanguinetti
  • Research Environmental Psychologist
  • Director, Consumer Energy Interfaces Lab
Energy efficiency expert wearing headset at UC Davis Energy Institute.
  • Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Director, Scaled Model Aerospace and Research Laboratory (SMARTLAB)
  • Co-Director, Transportation Noise Control Center (TNCC)
  • Research Interests: Mobile renewable energy harvesting and storage, Autonomous Energy ships, Hybrid solar-wind energy, Flow-structure dynamic interactions
Tyler Scott
  • Assistant Professor, Environmental Science & Policy
Research Interests: Environmental governance systems; environmental policy; land planning
Siminovitch, Michael in a discussion at the Energy Efficiency Institute, promoting sustainable energ.
  • Professor Emeritus
  • Former Director, California Lighting Technology Center
Research Interests: Energy-efficient lighting technology and design
Chris Simmons
  • Assistant Professor, Food Science and Technology
Research Interests: Biofuels; waste-to-energy; water/energy nexus
Aaron Smith
  • Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics
Research Interests: Biofuels; residential energy efficiency; energy price dynamics
Edward (Ned) Spang
  • Assistant Professor, Food Science and Technology
  • Affiliated Faculty Member, Center for Water-Energy Efficiency
Research Interests: Water, energy, and food resource systems
Dan Sperling
  • Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies
  • Distinguished Blue Planet Prize Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy
Research Interests: Transportation and energy systems; transportation and energy policy
530-752-7434
Gil Tal
  • Director, EV Research Center
  • Director, STEPS+
  • Professor, Environmental Science and Policy
Research Interests: Alternative fuel vehicles; travel behavior; travel demand modeling; transportation planning
530-754-9230
Keith Taylor
  • Assistant Economic Development Specialist, Human Ecology
Research Interests: Energy cooperatives; environmental policy; wind energy
Jesus Velasquez
  • Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Research Interests: Rational design of well-defined dimensionally reduced materials; nanoelectronics, energy conversion devices, and environmental remediation
Stephen M. Wheeler
  • Professor, Human Ecology
Research Interests: Urban and regional planning; sustainability; climate action planning
Portrait of Jae Yong Suk, researcher at Energy Efficiency Institute.
  • Director, California Lighting Technology Center
  • Associate Professor, Department of Design
  • Rosenfeld Chair in Energy Efficiency
Research Interests: urban lighting; visual comfort; impact of glare associated with daylighting
Dong Yu
  • Associate Professor, Physics
Research Interests: Solar energy; nanostructure solar cells