24 Stanford faculty members are fellows of the Precourt Institute for Energy. They help identify new initiatives, support existing initiatives, set strategic direction, and build bridges to their colleagues across schools, disciplines and programs. Their personal research and expertise in energy is listed below. Some of the fellows also engage in research not related to energy, which is not described here. Names link to Stanford employee directory listings. Terms for filtering under “Energy Research Area” are divided into categories provided in capital letters, e.g. “END USE/EFFICIENCY” “ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS,” and “POLICY & ECONOMICS.”  Users can filter for specific areas or the entire category.

Please send comments and suggestions to: mark.golden@stanford.edu.

First Name Last Name Academic Dept / Research Program Energy Research Area Energy Research Focus Detailed Profile
Sally M. Benson Energy Resources Engineering, Global Climate & Energy Project, Precourt Institute CO2 Capture, Storage & Conversion, Climate

Sequestering CO2 in deep underground formations. Permeability of CO2 and brine, especially sensitivity to injection flow-rate and various fluid properties. Net energy analysis of emerging technologies, such as PV and energy storage. Energy systems analysis to guide decisions about providing energy while reducing GHG emissions.

 Detailed Profile
Stacey Bent Center on Nanostructuring for Efficient Energy Conversion, Chemical Engineering, TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy Batteries & Fuel Cells, Photovoltaics, Renewable Fuels

Understanding and controlling surface and interfacial chemistry, and materials synthesis. Applying this to new materials and processes for next generation low-cost solar cells, fuel cells and catalysts.

 Detailed Profile
Adam Brandt Energy Resources Engineering CO2 Capture, Storage & Conversion, Climate, Natural Gas, Unconventional Oil & Gas

Reducing the environmental impacts of energy systems. Methane leaks from US natural gas system. Analysis of CO2 capture technologies. Life-cycle analysis of transportation fuels. Modeling global oil depletion, or "peak oil," and transitions to oil substitutes.

 Detailed Profile
William Chueh Materials Science & Engineering, Precourt Institute Batteries & Fuel Cells, Renewable Fuels

Fundamental and applied electrochemistry: solar fuels, fuel cells, and batteries.

 Detailed Profile
Thomas Devereaux SLAC - Photon Science, Stanford Institute for Materials & Energy Science Batteries & Fuel Cells, Photovoltaics, Superconductors Modern computational approaches to electron and photon dynamics. Models for new energy paradigms for developing novel materials for superconductors, photovoltaics and batteries. Detailed Profile
Christopher Edwards Mechanical Engineering CO2 Capture, Storage & Conversion, Combustion, Transportation

Efficient, low-polluting transportation engines (piston and turbine) by taking reactants to extreme states of energy density, and advanced electric generation. Sootless diesel engine. Coal-fired power with CO2 capture via combustion in supercritical saline aquifer water.

 Detailed Profile
Christopher Field Biology, Carnegie - Global Ecology, Environmental Earth System Science Bioenergy, Climate, Land Use

Integrating large-scale solar projects with biofuel production in deserts. Impacts on climate of converting land use from food to biofuel crops. Climate benefits of converting biofuel crops from annual plants to perennials. Global potential of bioenergy.

 Detailed Profile
Martin Fischer Civil & Environmental Engineering, Precourt Energy Efficiency Center Buildings Virtual design and construction. Detailed Profile
J. Chris Gerdes Mechanical Engineering Combustion, Transportation Using control systems to reduce the environmental impact of automobiles. Unmanned electric vehicles. Homogeneous charge compression ignition engines. Detailed Profile
Larry Goulder Economics, Hoover Task Force on Energy Policy, Stanford Environmental & Energy Policy Analysis Center Energy Markets, Law, Tax & Regulation

The environmental and economic impacts of U.S. and international environmental policies, including policies to deal with climate change, and with pollution from power plants and automobiles. Strengths and weaknesses of a carbon tax. Design of cap-and-trade systems. Obama administration's "Clean Power Plan."

 Detailed Profile
Roland Horne Energy Resources Engineering Geothermal, Enhanced Oil Recovery, Unconventional Oil & Gas

Geothermal, oil and gas reservoir engineering. Energy production optimization. Enhanced geothermal systems. Well test interpretation. Tracer analysis of fractures.

 Detailed Profile
Rob Jackson Environmental Earth System Science, Precourt Institute Air Quality, Climate, Water, Unconventional Oil & Gas, Tax & Regulation

Produce scientific knowledge to guide policies on energy extraction and global warming. Environmental costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing, especially on local water, air, human health and climate. Gas leaks in urban distribution systems. China's gas industry.

 Detailed Profile
Mark Z. Jacobson Civil & Environmental Engineering Air Quality, Climate, Integrated Modeling, Wind Developing large-scale clean, renewable energy solutions to global warming, air pollution and energy security. Modeling energy's effects on health and climate. Quantifying wind, water, and solar energy resources and reducing the impacts of their intermittency. Potential damping effect of large, ocean-based wind farms on hurricanes. Detailed Profile
Hemamala Karunadasa Chemistry Batteries & Fuel Cells, Photovoltaics, Nuclear Materials for the reversible sequestration of pollutants and for electro- and photo-catalytic conversions relevant for clean energy. Capturing atmospheric CO2 using organic-inorganic hybrid materials. Detailed Profile
Charles Kolstad Precourt Institute, Stanford Environmental & Energy Policy Analysis Center Energy Markets, Finance & Subsidies, Law, Tax & Regulation

Environmental economics and industrial organization, with a focus on climate change and energy markets. Uncertainty and learning in strategic contexts regarding the provision of public goods, mostly in the context of international environmental agreements.

 Detailed Profile
Arun Majumdar Mechanical Engineering, Precourt Institute Batteries & Fuel Cells, CO2 Capture, Storage & Conversion, Climate, Electric Grid, Finance & Subsidies, Grid Scale Storage, Management & Innovation, Thermoelectrics

Nanoscale materials and devices for energy conversion, transport and storage, especially thermoelectric devices and recovery of waste heat. The future of stationary power: electricity grid and natural gas infrastructure, system integration and innovative technologies, finance, policy and business models. Energy's impacts on climate change.

 Detailed Profile
Michael McGehee Center for Advanced Molecular Photovoltaics, Materials Science & Engineering Photovoltaics Low-cost hybrid tandem solar cells with polymer or dye-sensitized cells on top of conventional silicon or CIGS cells. Controlling and characterizing the nanostructure of solar cells and their electronic processes. Transparent electrodes based on silver nanowires. Long-term reliability of solar cells. Detailed Profile
Paul McIntyre Materials Science & Engineering Batteries & Fuel Cells, Photovoltaics Thin films, especially complex metal oxides. Metal-oxide semiconductor anodes for oxidation of water. Low-to-intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Multijunction nanowire solar cells. Detailed Profile
Jens Norskov Chemical Engineering, SLAC - Photon Science, SUNCAT Center for Interface Science & Catalysis Batteries & Fuel Cells, Bioenergy, CO2 Capture, Storage & Conversion, Renewable Fuels

Understanding interface phenomena, including adsorption, surface chemical reactions, heterogeneous catalysis, and photo- and electro-catalysis. Applications include solar fuel production, syngas reactions, biomass conversion, fuel cells, and battery processes.

 Detailed Profile
Eric Pop Electrical Engineering Green Computing, Photovoltaics, Thermoelectrics Nanomaterials for energy-efficient electronics, including transistors, data storage, integrated circuits, and sensors. Energy harvesting through thermoelectrics. Carbon nanotubes, graphene, and other 2D materials for electronic and thermal applications. Fundamental limits of current and heat flow at the nanoscale. Detailed Profile
Friedrich Prinz Center on Nanostructuring for Efficient Energy Conversion, Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Batteries & Fuel Cells, Photovoltaics

Quantum confined solar cells, including quantum dots, thin barrier layers and transparent electrodes. Solid oxide fuel cells. Photosynthetic membranes and their catalytic behavior.

 Detailed Profile
Ram Rajagopal Civil & Environmental Engineering Buildings, Electric Grid, Energy Markets, Sensors & Data, Wind Making renewable energy economical. Reducing wind power costs by improving forecasts and buying replacement power later. Matching solar supply with businesses that have price-sensitive demand. Detailed Profile
Byron Reeves Communication Buildings, Energy & Behavior, Sensors & Data

Creation of a multiplayer game platform linked to home energy sensors to enable empirical research about how serious games can change consumer decisions about energy consumption.

 Detailed Profile
Burt Richter Hoover Task Force on Energy Policy, Precourt Institute, Program on Energy & Sustainable Development, SLAC Climate, Energy Markets, Integrated Modeling, Nuclear

Global energy system analysis. Energy policy and energy supply issues. Nuclear energy. Reliability versus cost trade-offs in wind energy investments in California. Science policy. 

 Detailed Profile
Zhi-Xun Shen Applied Physics, Physics, SLAC Batteries & Fuel Cells, Renewable Fuels, Superconductors, Solar Thermal High-temperature cuprate and pnictide superconductors. Photon-enhanced thermionic emission devices, which use solar heat and light. Transition metal oxides as functional energy materials. Multi-scale imaging of energy materials. Diamondoids-nanostructured diamond. Detailed Profile
James Sweeney Management Science & Engineering, Precourt Energy Efficiency Center Buildings, Climate, Energy & Behavior, Energy Markets, Finance & Subsidies, Integrated Modeling, Heating & Cooling, Law, Management & Innovation, Transportation, Tax & Regulation

Energy efficiency technologies, policies and behavior. Energy and climate change policy analysis. Electricity and petroleum markets analysis. Implementation of California's global warming solutions act (AB32). 

 Detailed Profile
John Weyant Management Science & Engineering Buildings, Economic Development & Equity, Climate, Energy Markets, Finance & Subsidies, Integrated Modeling, Land Use, Management & Innovation, Transportation, Tax & Regulation

Analysis of global climate change policy options. Energy efficiency analysis. Energy technology assessment. Integrated assessment. Models for strategic planning. Venture capital formation for energy technologies. GHG emissions and economic implications of new shale gas supplies. Market valuation of renewable power plants' ecological benefits.

 Detailed Profile
Frank Wolak Economics, Program on Energy & Sustainable Development Electric Grid, Energy & Behavior, Energy Markets, Finance & Subsidies, Management & Innovation, Water, Tax & Regulation

Energy market design and monitoring. Emissions permit market design, analysis and monitoring. Transmission expansion policy, design and analysis. Methods for least cost integration of intermittent renewable resources. Energy supply and water supply interactions. The impact of pricing and information provision on energy demand. 

 Detailed Profile
Mark Zoback Natural Gas Institute, Geophysics CO2 Capture, Storage & Conversion, Land Use, Natural Gas, Unconventional Oil & Gas

Reservoir geomechanics with emphasis on shale gas and tight gas reservoirs, hydraulic fracturing, the occurrence of induced and triggered earthquakes, and the feasibility of long-term geologic sequestration of CO2.

 Detailed Profile