The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), MIT’s hub for energy research, education, and outreach, is advancing zero- and low-carbon solutions to combat climate change and expand energy access. MITEI is a crucial rallying point for MIT researchers and educators who share our vision and commitment to dramatically reduce emissions through the development of novel technologies and delivery of science-based analysis. Together we are dedicated to decarbonizing global energy systems and building upon MIT’s long tradition of working collaboratively and transparently with industry, government, and civil society.
The MIT Energy Initiative leads MIT’s collaborative engagement with companies of all kinds from around the world to decarbonize our economy as rapidly as possible. Learning from one another, and working together, we seek to identify high impact opportunities, develop solutions, and bring them to global scale.
RESEARCH: MITEI connects researchers from across MIT and facilitates collaborations with industry, nonprofits, and government to speed and scale commercialization of no- and low-carbon technologies from lab to market. MITEI and its members support hundreds of research projects, including innovative early-stage energy projects awarded through the MITEI Seed Fund Program.
Through MITEI’s Future Energy Systems Center, faculty, students, industry, and government advance R&D in key technology areas and energy subsector systems. Center researchers conduct integrated analysis of the energy system to transform power systems, transportation, industry, and the built environment.
MITEI also delivers comprehensive analyses for thought leaders, policy makers, and regulators, such as the “Future of” report series. The most recent, The Future of Energy Storage, was published in 2022.
EDUCATION: MITEI’s education role is central to its mission to decarbonize the world’s energy systems. MITEI provides a robust educational toolkit to thousands of MIT graduate and undergraduate students and global online learners who want to contribute to the energy transition.
Our programs—in the classroom, in the field, and online—allow students to study and conduct energy research in diverse fields, from energy science and social science to technology and engineering. Students hone their skills and collaborate with peers and professionals.
Opportunities include the Energy Studies Minor, the Energy Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, short modules during the Independent Activities Period, an energy-focused first-year orientation program, the graduate Society of Energy Fellows, and a series of online energy classes open to the world.
OUTREACH: MITEI provides fact-based analysis of current energy topics to inform public policy, foster dialogue within the academic research community, and provide the public with context on vital issues. Our conferences and symposia give industry, government, and nonprofits data and insights to help drive energy system change. We continue that conversation online and off through news articles, our social channels, podcasts, and our experts’ presence in the media.
Our history
MIT’s legacy of tackling societal challenges with science and technology stretches back to the first classes it offered in 1865. Some of MIT’s greatest innovations have been multidisciplinary—from collaborations across MIT departments and among industry, academia, and government. Throughout its history MIT has engaged with industry and government to help solve the world’s most vexing problems.
This history makes MIT and MITEI uniquely suited to the task of decarbonizing the energy sector and addressing the climate crisis. This multidisciplinary effort draws from many fields, including physics, chemistry, economics, engineering, social science, and public policy.
In 2006, MIT President Susan Hockfield—along with a diverse team of MIT faculty and senior staff—established the MIT Energy Initiative. MITEI’s founding director was Ernest J. Moniz, now the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems emeritus and special advisor to the MIT president. Moniz also served as the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Subsequent directors have been:
MITEI has mobilized thousands of students and experts, hundreds of millions of dollars in research, and key players from throughout the energy world around a core mission: deploying the research and educational strengths of MIT to decarbonize our economy and to address the world’s energy challenges.
William H. Green, the Hoyt C. Hottel Professor at MIT, is a world leader in chemical kinetics, reaction engineering, prediction of chemical reactions and properties, and in development of related software. He has led many combined experimental/modeling research projects related to fuels, combustion, pyrolysis, and oxidative stability, and he invented an instrument to directly measure rate coefficients for multi-channel reactions. He developed computer methods to predict the behavior of complicated reacting mixtures, many of which are included in the open source Reaction Mechanism Generator software package, a type of AI expert system for reactive chemistry. The associated popular website rmg.mit.edu includes estimators for many chemical properties and several databases. Green co-invented several algorithms and numerical methods helpful for handling complicated chemical kinetics. His group has also developed machine-learning methods and software (ASKCOS and Chemprop) for accurately predicting the products of organic reactions and for predicting many chemical and reaction properties. Chemprop, whose recent versions were developed primarily by Green’s research group, is currently the most popular open-source chemistry software on GitHub. It is heavily used by the pharmaceutical industry, to predict the properties of proposed new drug molecules. Green also invents and analyzes technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the transportation/fuel sector. Two of his greenhouse-gas reduction inventions are now being commercialized, one by Thiozen, a company he co-founded. Recently he has been developing and analyzing technology options for decarbonizing the freight sector, with a special interest in long-haul trucking.
Green earned his BA from Swarthmore College, and his PhD in physical chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley under the supervision of C. Bradley Moore. After postdocs at Cambridge University with Nicholas Handy and at the University of Pennsylvania with Marsha Lester, he worked for Exxon Research & Engineering for six years before joining the Chemical Engineering faculty at MIT in 1997. Green has co-authored more than 350 journal articles, which have been cited more than 23,000 times. He is a fellow of the AAAS and of the Combustion Institute, and has received the American Chemical Society’s Glenn Award in Energy & Fuel Chemistry and the AIChE’s Wilhelm Award in Reaction Engineering. He convened and organized the International Conference on Chemical Kinetics in 2011, and now serves as treasurer of that conference series. More than 20 of his former graduate or postdoctoral students are now tenured or tenure-track faculty. He previously served as the editor of the International Journal of Chemical Kinetics, as the faculty chair of MIT’s Mobility of the Future project, and as the executive officer of the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering. He was appointed director of the MIT Energy Initiative in Spring 2024.
Christopher Knittel is the deputy director of policy at MITEI and the George P. Shultz Professor of Energy Economics in the Sloan School of Management MIT. He is also the director of MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, which has served as the hub for social science research on energy and the environmental since the late 1970s. Knittel is also a co-director of The E2e Project, a research initiative between MIT, UC Berkeley, and the University of Chicago, to undertake rigorous evaluation of energy efficiency investments. He joined the faculty at MIT in 2011, having taught previously at UC Davis and Boston University. At MIT, he teaches Energy Economics and Policy to undergraduates, MBA students, and graduate students from outside of the Sloan School of Management.
Martha Broad is MITEI’s executive director. As part of the leadership team, she works to link science, innovation and policy to transform the world’s energy systems. She has a track record of successfully partnering with business, government and nonprofit stakeholders to support the clean energy transition. At MITEI, she works closely with member companies who collaborate with MIT researchers on a spectrum of topics, including the Future Energy Systems Center.
In addition, she spearheads MITEI’s collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy to design, manage, and host the annual Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Women in Clean Energy Symposium and serves as a C3E Ambassador.
Previously, as part of the senior management team of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Broad led programs and studies that focused on the commercialization of clean energy technologies. By collaborating with universities and public and private partners, she helped facilitate the state’s successful installation of hundreds of megawatts of wind and solar systems.
Antje Danielson is the Director of Education at the MIT Energy Initiative, where she directs existing energy programs—such as the MIT Energy Studies Minor and the Energy Fellows Program—conceives and oversees the development of new programs—such as the Future of Energy Systems online MicroMasters—and engages in interdisciplinary research related to transformation systems. She co-teaches energy- and climate-related classes, and leverages her extensive international network of like-minded academic and professional colleagues to accelerate climate change related capacity building.
Prior to her position at MIT, she directed the Institute of the Environment at Tufts University, where she was also an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health. From 2005 to 2008, she was the Deputy Director for Sustainability at the Centre for Research into Earth Energy Systems at Durham University in the UK, where she initiated a carbon capture and storage working group.
Danielson’s approach to finding climate solutions is systemic, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and entrepreneurial. She advances her goals through research, education, and implementation of solutions. In 1999/2000, she co-founded the car-sharing company Zipcar.
Danielson is a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Council for Science and the Environment and has also served as President of the U.S. Council for Environmental Deans and Directors. She received teaching awards from Harvard University and an Exceptional Contribution Award from Durham University.
Randall Field is executive director of the MITEI’s Future Energy Systems Center which examines the accelerating energy transition as emerging technologies, policies, demographics, and economics reshaping the landscape of energy supply and demand. He is also executive director of MIT’s Fusion Study examining the global multidecadal dynamics of the energy transition and how fusion energy can contribute to decarbonizing global energy systems. He was previously executive director for MITEI’s Mobility Systems Center, assessing the impact of transformations in vehicle and fuel technologies, service and business models, and consumer behavior in the movement of both passengers and goods. He was also executive director for MIT’s Mobility of the Future study which produced the Insights in the Future Mobility report covering global projections of alternative fuel vehicle fleets and energy consumption, deployment of charging and fueling infrastructure, attitudes towards mobility, and the impacts of innovative technologies and business models on urban mobility. As executive director for the Conversion Research Program at MIT for 10 years, Field worked with a multidisciplinary team of researchers to explore various conversion technologies for production of alternative fuels. Prior to MIT, Field worked for Aspen Technology for 23 years. Field received a SM in chemical engineering practice from MIT and a BS in chemical engineering from Caltech.
J.J. Laukaitis is the Director of Member Services at the MIT Energy Initiative, where he manages the growth of impactful collaborations between leading corporations and MIT faculty, researchers, and innovators.
J.J. has over 25 years of experience in engineering, product management, and large account sales management across multiple industries including mechanical design, software, electronics, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
During his industry career J.J. has led new revenue growth and business development initiatives at large established corporations and was a key contributor to early revenue generation and the IPO at PTC.
At MIT, J.J. has a track record of initiating and growing large, strategic engagements between industry partners and MIT, resulting in mutually beneficial research projects and technology commercialization initiatives. For 11 years, J.J. has worked closely with some of the largest and boldest initiatives across MIT, such as the MIT Energy Initiative, Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Systems Lab, and Advanced Manufacturing Initiatives.
J.J. received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and a masters in Science from the MIT Sloan School of Management. J.J. is a graduate of Leader 2 Leader (L2L), MIT’s nationally-recognized development program for MIT leaders.
Heather Leet joined MITEI as the development officer in May of 2023 and has been privileged to spend the last 20 years helping donors fulfill their philanthropic wishes for several education, service, and humanitarian organizations. Prior to joining MITEI, Heather was the Director of Development at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
Heather’s past fundraising has included a variety of organizations including the Old State House in Boston, Rotary International, and the United of Way of Metro Chicago. Heather has attributed her choice to support organizations that are making an impact on their communities and the world to her service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bulgaria, where she taught English as a second language and supported several student projects, including a Danube River pollutant research project by High School Students for which she raised funds from USAID.
Sarah strategically partners with all MITEI teams to achieve optimum operational results. Having worked at MIT since 1999, Sarah brought a wealth of institutional knowledge to MITEI when she joined as Human Resources Administrator in May 2018. As a member of the MITEI leadership team, Sarah consults on and helps implement policies and procedures, while proactively managing a wide variety of staff- and student-related issues, to maintain alignment of MITEI’s goals, mission, and philosophy with its employees. Recognizing that people are the most valuable resource in an organization, Sarah strives to achieve a great workplace and work-life balance for everyone at MITEI.
Robert Stoner is the founding director of the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design. He was previously MITEI’s deputy director for science and technology. Stoner is currently a member of the MIT Energy Council. He also serves on the Board of Directors of, and the Science and Technology Committee of, the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, which oversees the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and as a member and secretary of the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty.
Stoner is the inventor of numerous computational and ultrafast optical measurement techniques and has built and managed successful technology firms in the semiconductor, IT, and optics industries. From 2007 through 2009, he lived and worked in Africa and India while serving in a variety of senior roles within the Clinton Foundation, including as the CEO of the Clinton Development Initiative, and director of the Clinton Climate Initiative for Africa. His present research at MIT focuses on solutions to energy poverty, and the design and optimization of energy systems and business models in the developing world. He earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from Queen’s University and Ph.D. from Brown University in condensed matter physics.
Robert Tolu has worked for more than 20 years in finance and sponsored-award administration. Previously he worked for Harvard University and the education and healthcare nonprofit, Education Development Center. At MITEI, he serves as Manager of Financial Operations, overseeing a team tasked with all financial matters, pre- and post-award, ensuring smooth operations. Robert earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. He is deeply experienced in finance administration with the federal government, industry, and foundation funders.
Tom Witkowski is MITEI’s director of communications. As a member of the MITEI leadership team, his focus is on sharing MITEI’s work in decarbonizing global energy systems, as well as its efforts to combat climate change and expand energy access. He uses storytelling to educate, inform, and engage audiences with the people and work of innovative and mission-driven organizations. Previously, he oversaw Alumni Marketing & Communications for Harvard Business School, strengthening the connections between the school and its alumni and donors. He has also held communications roles with MIT Resource Development and MIT Sloan School of Management. Prior to his work in higher education, he was a journalist published in Time, the Boston Globe, the Boston Business Journal, and numerous other local and national publications
Clare Balboni
Steven Barrett
John Deutch
William Green
Bradford Hager
Chris Knittel
Jing Li
Caitlin Mueller
Elsa Olivetti
Christoph Reinhart
Noelle Selin
Yang Shao-Horn
Bettina Stoetzer
Robert Stoner
Andy Sun
Yogi Surendranath
Jinhua Zhao
Poppy Allonby
Head of ESG Enablement, T. Rowe Price
Norm Augustine (Chair)
Retired Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin
Arunas A. Chesonis
Managing Partner, Safar Partners
Dominic T. Clausi
Vice President of Research, ExxonMobil
Rafael del Pino
Chairman, Grupo Ferrovial SA
John Deutch
Institute Professor and Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, MIT
Susan Eisenhower
Chairman Emeritus, Eisenhower Institute
Selda Gunsel
President, Shell Global Solutions US
Susan Hockfield
President Emerita and Professor of Neuroscience, MIT
Robert B. Millard
Chairman Emeritus, MIT Corporation
Ernest J. Moniz
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics & Engineering Systems Emeritus, MIT
Sam Nunn
Co-Chair, Nuclear Threat Initiative
John S. Reed
Chairman Emeritus, MIT Corporation
Güler Sabanci
Chairman and Managing Director, Haci Omer Sabanci Holding AS
Philip R. Sharp
Retired President, Resources for the Future
Ratan N. Tata
Chairman, Tata Sons Limited
Ellen Williams
Distinguished University Professor, Department of Physics, University of Maryland
Daniel Yergin
Vice Chairman, S&P Global
Francesca Zarri
Director Technology, R&D & Digital, Eni S.p.A.
Alexandra Goodwin | Senior Administrative Assistant |
Caleb Larson | Administrative Assistant |
Gail Monahan | Administrative and Operations Coordinator |
Debi Kedian | Events Manager |
Kelly McGinity | Events Planning Manager |
Dominic Mathurin | Digital Projects Manager |
Nancy Stauffer | Editor, Energy Futures |
Kelley Travers | Communications Manager |
Charlotte Whittle | Communications and Development Assistant |
Tom Witkowski | Director of Communications |
Heather Leet | Development Officer |
Charlotte Whittle | Communications and Development Assistant |
Antje Danielson | Director of Education |
Rowan Elowe | Senior Academic Program Administrator |
Aisling O’Grady | Education Program Administrator |
Leia Amarra | Senior Fiscal Officer |
Jasmine Bellitti | Financial Assistant |
Tiffany Greaves | Senior Financial Assistant |
Edith Jaehne | Senior Fiscal Officer |
Robert Tolu | Manager of Financial Operations |
Nadie Trotman-Brathwaite | Fiscal Officer |
Maria Tsafoulias-Vrakas | Financial Assistant |
Sarah Peterson | Human Resources Manager |
Patrick Connelly | Systems Administrator |
Lihong (Wendy) Duan | Program Director, MITEI Asia Pacific Program |
Brian Hodder | Special Projects Manager |
Aruna Joglekar | Manager of Member Relations Programs and Engagement |
J.J. Laukaitis | Director of Member Services |
Katelyn Ahern | Program Manager, Future Energy Systems Center |
Carlos Batlle | Visiting Scientist |
Randall Field | Executive Director, Future Energy Systems Center |
Emre Gençer | Principal Research Scientist |
Howard Herzog | Senior Research Engineer |
Dharik Mallapragada | Principal Research Scientist |
Pablo Duenas Martinez | Research Scientist |
MITEI is affiliated with faculty members in a number of MIT centers, departments, and laboratories pursuing interdisciplinary energy and environmental activities. MITEI supports the financial administration of certain projects and collaborates on research and education activities with these organizations.
Affiliated faculty and research staff as well as international research associates contribute to empirical research on policy issues related to coal, oil, gas, and electricity markets; nuclear power; mobility; energy infrastructure; investment finance and risk management; and environmental and carbon constraints. CEEPR cooperates closely with associates in government and industry across the globe to enhance the relevance of its research.
CEEPR produces working papers, policy briefs, and research input to larger, interdisciplinary studies; hosts two annual research workshops in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and hosts an international energy policy conference organized jointly with the Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. CEEPR is also involved in a number of collaborative research projects.
The E2e Project is a joint initiative founded by Professor Christopher Knittel, Professor Michael Greenstone (formerly at MIT, now at the University of Chicago), and Professor Catherine Wolfram of the University of California, Berkeley, to leverage cutting-edge scientific and economic insights on the causes of the persistent energy-efficiency gap. E2e focuses these talents on solving one of the most perplexing energy questions today and communicating those findings to policy makers and the public. E2e’s research generates rigorous and accurate evaluations of energy-efficiency technologies and programs using state-of-the-art empirical methodologies.
The Roosevelt Project takes a multidisciplinary approach to examine the transitional challenges associated with progress toward a deeply decarbonized U.S. economy. The project aims to chart a path forward through the transition that minimizes worker and community dislocations and enables at-risk communities to sustain employment levels by taking advantage of the economic opportunities present for regional economic development. The first phase of the project involves an assessment of cross-cutting topics related to the transition. The second phase of the project involves developing regional action plans for individual case studies, working with local partners on the ground in specific transition contexts. The project was initiated by former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz and engages a breadth of MIT and Harvard faculty and researchers across academic domains including economics, engineering, sociology, urban studies and planning, and political science.
To achieve its mission—advancing a sustainable, prosperous world through scientific analysis of the complex interactions among co-evolving, interconnected global systems—the Joint Program:
Building on the twin pillars of science and policy, the Joint Program was founded in 1991 as a joint effort of two distinct groups: the MIT Center for Global Change Science and the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
MITEI staff and faculty affiliates collaborate with the Office of Sustainability through initiatives such as the Campus Sustainability Task Force, living lab projects, and the MIT Climate Action Advisory Committee.
MIT Human Resources maintains a list of open positions at the Energy Initiative, and is the primary contact for all applications and questions.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment. Read the full nondiscrimination policy.
I’m a journalist. How can I get in touch with an MIT energy researcher?
Contact MITEI Communications.
How can I learn about becoming a member?
Contact MITEI Member Services.
How can I learn about energy education?
Contact MITEI Education.
Where can I view recordings of MITEI events, seminars and other talks online?
If a MITEI event, seminar, or other talk is being recorded, you can find the video by visiting the MITEI YouTube channel. Please note that not all MITEI events, seminars and talks are recorded, but that the YouTube channel is the most up-to-date source of MITEI video recordings.
I’m a non-MIT student/researcher who would like to work with MIT faculty on energy issues. Are there opportunities available for internships and jobs?
MIT faculty work on a very wide range of energy research topics, and the best way to figure out whether there could be opportunities is to research specific departments and faculty members, and inquire through those channels. You can learn more about faculty members affiliated with MITEI here. MIT Human Resources maintains a list of open positions at the Energy Initiative, and is the primary contact for all applications and questions. Please note, MITEI does not offer internships to international students.
I’m a researcher at another academic institution. How can I get in contact with MITEI about an energy-related topic?
If you would like to reach MITEI regarding an energy-related topic such as an invention or research project, please send us more information about your proposal.
I’m an inventor. How do I get in touch with someone at MITEI about my energy-related invention?
We receive many inquiries about inventions, and unfortunately MITEI researchers are unable to review these proposals.
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