Since its inception in late 2006, the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) has become MIT’s hub for energy research, education, and outreach. Through these three pillars, MITEI plays a catalytic role in accelerating responses to the many challenges facing our global energy system. MITEI’s mission is to develop low- and no-carbon solutions to efficiently, affordably, and sustainably meet global energy needs while minimizing environmental impacts, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigating climate change.
Research
To advance this mission, MITEI brings together researchers from across the Institute and facilitates collaborations with industry and government. MITEI and its member companies and organizations support hundreds of research projects across the Institute, including those awarded through the MITEI Seed Fund Program for innovative early-stage energy research projects.
As a vital component of MIT’s Plan for Action on Climate Change and MITEI’s research program, the Low-Carbon Energy Centers present opportunities for faculty, students, industry, and government to advance research and development in key technology areas and energy subsector systems for curbing climate change, from solar energy to electric power systems, mobility, and other areas.
The Initiative also delivers comprehensive analyses for thought leaders, policy makers, and regulators, such as the “Future of” series of reports. The most recent, The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World, was published in September 2018 with the Nuclear Science and Engineering Department. A new study, The Future of Storage, is now underway and focuses on the role of energy storage in making electricity systems cleaner, more efficient, and more affordable. Another series of reports examines rapidly changing segments of the energy sector; the 2019 Insights into Future Mobility report, the product of the multi-year Mobility of the Future study, explores scenarios for carbon reductions within the personal mobility segment of the transportation sector. The other report in this series, Utility of the Future (2016) provides guidance to policy makers, regulators, and industry on emerging issues in the electric power sector, using a neutral framework within which to evaluate the economic, regulatory, and technological impacts of the ongoing evolution of the power sector worldwide.
Education
MITEI leads Institute energy education efforts and has engaged thousands of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students, incorporating bringing current research developments and results into teaching and facilitating applied learning experiences for students through sponsored research opportunities and other programs. These programs and experiences prepare the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and policy makers to collaborate on solutions to global energy challenges. Learning opportunities include the Energy Studies Minor, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in energy, short modules during the Independent Activities Period, an energy-focused first-year pre-orientation program, the graduate Society of Energy Fellows, and a new series of online energy classes to reach a global audience. Faculty associated with MITEI help shape energy education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels by teaching, advising, and developing new curricula.
MITEI’s Tata Center for Technology and Design has provided extensive support to Master’s and PhD students through fellowships sponsored by the Tata Trusts. Tata Fellows have worked throughout India, as well as in Nepal, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, traveling at least twice a year to immerse themselves in the social, political, and economic aspects of their research in the developing world. Their experiences abroad inform their ongoing research with the goal of catalyzing positive social impact in the form of policy support and affordable products and services. Through support for these students, and through thoughtfully crafted research projects in the fields of energy, water, environment, housing, health, and agriculture, the Tata Center advances its mission of bringing technical talent and experience to bear on the challenges of the developing world.
Outreach
MITEI’s outreach efforts foster dialogue within the research community; across the academic, industry, and government sectors; and provide the public with context on current energy issues. In addition to informing public policy through research reports, MITEI facilitates this exchange of information by hosting and sponsoring events on campus and by supporting faculty and staff participation in external events. The MITEI communications team also highlights the work of the MIT energy community across print and digital platforms, such as Energy Futures magazine, MITEI’s website, podcasts, and social media, as well as through media outreach.
What We Do
More Information
Executive Leadership
Robert C. Armstrong
Director
MIT Energy Initiative
Robert C. Armstrong is MITEI’s director and the Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering. A member of the MIT faculty since 1973, Armstrong served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 2007 and has directed MITEI since 2013, after serving as the organization’s deputy director from 2007-2013 with founding director Ernest Moniz. His research is focused on pathways to a low-carbon energy future.
Armstrong has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020) and the National Academy of Engineering (2008). He received the 2020 AIChE Founders’ Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering in honor of his landmark contributions to chemical engineering research and education, and for leadership in advancing the transition to a low-carbon future and addressing climate change. He has also been awarded AIChE’s Warren K. Lewis Award (2006), and the Professional Progress Award (1992). He is the recipient of the 2006 Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, which is devoted to the study of the science of deformation and flow of matter.
Armstrong was a member of MIT’s Future of Natural Gas and Future of Solar Energy study groups. He advised the teams that developed MITEI’s most recent reports, The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World (2018) and Insights into Future Mobility (2019), and is co-chairing the new MITEI study, The Future of Storage. He co-edited Game Changers: Energy on the Move with former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz.
Robert Stoner
Deputy Director for Science and Technology
MIT Energy Initiative
Robert Stoner is the deputy director for science and technology at MITEI, founding director of the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design, and faculty co-director of the MITEI Low-Carbon Energy Center for Electric Power Systems. He is currently a member of the MIT Energy Council, the Science and Technology Committee of the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and the Technical Advisory Board of the Center for the Study of Science, Technology, and Energy Policy. He is also a member of the Rockefeller Foundation-funded Global Commission to End Energy Poverty, and serves as its secretary.
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 energy storage technology and policy, 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 PhD from Brown University in condensed matter physics.
Martha Broad
Executive Director
MIT Energy Initiative
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 Low-Carbon Energy Centers.
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.
Louis Carranza
Associate Director
MIT Energy Initiative
Louis Carranza was previously vice president for strategic development at IHS, where he worked for 17 years. There, he served as executive director and co-chair of CERAWeek—one of the top five corporate leader conferences in the world—and conceived and implemented the CERAWeek partnership program. He was also co-director of the IHS scenario planning initiative. Earlier at CERA, Carranza was responsible for managing the firm’s global power practice.
Antje Danielson
Director of Education
MIT Energy Initiative
Antje Danielson joined MITEI after eight years at Tufts University, where she directed the Tufts Institute of the Environment and was an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health. Her areas of interest are energy education and carbon capture and storage. She is also interested in research on conditions that underpin interdisciplinary research and collaborations.
Her previous roles include 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 is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council for Science and the Environment and has also served as President of the Council for Environmental Deans and Directors. She received teaching awards from Harvard University and an Exceptional Contribution Award from Durham University. In 1999/2000 she co-founded the car-sharing company Zipcar.
Antje holds a PhD in geochemistry from the Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany.
Robert Tolu
Senior Fiscal Officer
MIT Energy Initiative
Robert Tolu has worked for 17 years in finance and previously sponsored award administration for Harvard University and Education Development Center. At MITEI, he serves as senior fiscal officer and is responsible for overseeing all financial matters, pre- and post-award, to ensure smooth operations and minimal surprises. Robert’s extensive experience includes work with the federal government, industry, and foundation funders.
Energy Council
The Energy Council helps shape MITEI’s research, education, and outreach directions.Robert Armstrong
Clare Balboni
Steven Barrett
Tristan G. Brown (interim member)
John Deutch
William Green
Bradford Hager
Chris Knittel
Jing Li
Caitlin Mueller
Elsa Olivetti
Krishna Rajagopal
Christoph Reinhart
Noelle Selin
Yang Shao-Horn
Robert Stoner
Yogi Surendranath
Jinhua Zhao
Energy Education Task Force
MITEI’s Energy Education Task Force guides the development of energy education at MIT. The task force meets regularly throughout the academic year and includes faculty from all five schools at MIT, as well as graduate and undergraduate student representatives. MITEI’s education team members support the task force by implementing energy education programs.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee meets annually to review MITEI’s progress, provide strategic input, and report to the offices of the MIT President and Provost. MITEI Founding members, and rotating Sustaining Members have a seat on the Executive Committee.External Advisory Board
An External Advisory Board composed of industry, academic, nonprofit, and public sector leaders provides oversight to the Initiative. The views and guidance of the board greatly assist MITEI in maximizing its impact in helping to meet the world’s energy needs, reduce the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption, and inform public discourse on energy and the environment. The board meets annually each fall.Poppy Allonby
Managing Director, Head of Strategic Product Management (EMEA), BlackRock
Norm Augustine (Chair)
Retired Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin
Frances Beinecke
Past President, Natural Resources Defense Council
Roberto Casula
CEO and President, Eni Next
Arunas A. Chesonis
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sweetwater Energy
Rafael del Pino
Chairman, Grupo Ferrovial SA
John Deutch
Institute Professor and Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, MIT
Susan Eisenhower
Chairman Emeritus, Eisenhower Institute
Walter B. Hewlett
Chairman, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
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-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative
John S. Reed
Former Chairman, MIT
Güler Sabanci
Chairman and Managing Director, Haci Omer Sabanci Holding AS
Yuri Sebregts
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Shell Global Solutions International BV
Philip R. Sharp
Retired President, Resources for the Future
Robert M. Solow
Institute Professor Emeritus, MIT
Thomas F. Stephenson
Partner, Sequoia Capital
Vijay Swarup
Vice President for Research and Development, ExxonMobil Corporation
Ratan N. Tata
Chairman, Tata Sons Limited
Ellen Williams
Distinguished University Professor, Department of Physics, University of Maryland
Daniel Yergin
Vice Chairman, IHS Markit
Governing Board
The Governing Board provides input to MITEI leadership on overall direction and member activities and serves as the Program Committee for the Energy Research Seed Fund. The Board meets twice a year—in the spring to review seed fund progress and proposals and in the fall at the time of the annual MITEI Research Conference. Founding and Sustaining members each have a seat on the MITEI Governing Board with the directors of MITEI and the MIT Energy Council.Administration
| Alexandra Goodwin | Senior Administrative Assistant to the Associate Director and Visiting Professor Ignacio Perez-Arriaga |
| Caleb Larson | Administrative Assistant |
| Gail Monahan | Senior Administrative Assistant |
| Aisling O’Grady | Administrative Assistant to the Education Team |
| Carolyn Sinnes | Administrative Assistant, ENI-MIT Alliance |
| Peggy Udden | Senior Administrative Assistant to the Director |
Communications and Events
| Kelly Hoarty | Events Project Coordinator |
| Debi Kedian | Events Manager |
| Tom Melville | Director of Communications |
| Jenn Schlick | Manager, Digital Projects |
| Nancy Stauffer | Editor, Energy Futures |
| Kelley Travers | Operations and Communications Coordinator |
Education
| Antje Danielson | Director of Education |
| Rowan Elowe | Online Academic Program Coordinator |
| Angeliki Diane Rigos | Associate Director, Graduate Programs |
| Rachel Shulman | Academic Coordinator |
Finance
| Leia Amarra | Fiscal Officer |
| Jasmine Bellitti | Financial Assistant |
| Tiffany Greaves | Senior Financial Assistant |
| Edith Jaehne | Fiscal Officer |
| Tiara Smallwood | Financial Coordinator |
| Robert Tolu | Manager of Financial Operations |
| Nadie Trotman | Fiscal Officer |
| Maria Tsafoulias Vrakas | Financial Assistant |
HR
| Sarah Peterson | Human Resources Administrator |
IT
| Patrick Connelly | Systems Administrator |
Member Services
| Louis Carranza | Associate Director |
| Lihong (Wendy) Duan | Program Director, MITEI Asia Pacific Program |
| Brian Hodder | Special Projects Manager |
| Aruna Joglekar | Member Programs Manager |
Research
| Carlos Batlle Lopez | Research Scientist |
| Daniel Cohn | Research Scientist |
| Pablo Duenas-Martinez | Research Scientist |
| Randall Field | Executive Director, MITEI Mobility Systems Center |
| Emre Gençer | Research Scientist |
| Howard Gruenspecht | Senior Energy Economist |
| Howard Herzog | Senior Research Engineer |
| Dharik Mallapragada | Research Scientist |
| Ian Miller | Research Specialist |
| Raanan Miller | Executive Director, MITEI Electric Power Systems Center |
| Ignacio Perez-Arriaga | Visiting Professor |
| Apurba Sakti | Research Scientist |
| Karen Tapia-Ahumada | 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.
The E2e project is a collaborative program initiated by Knittel, Michael Greenstone (formerly at MIT, now at the University of Chicago), and Catherine Wolfram (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 policymakers and the public. E2e’s research generates rigorous and accurate evaluations of energy efficiency technologies and programs using state-of-the-art empirical methodologies.
Building on the twin pillars of science and policy, the 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, under the administrative auspices of MITEI.
The scope of the world’s energy problems calls for a comprehensive portfolio of responses to environmental, economic, scientific, security, and political issues. Under the MIT Energy Initiative, MIT researchers are hard at work on this portfolio, addressing alleviating immediate shortage, security, and environmental concerns. Advancing energy research and education is a main priority of the Campaign as part of the focus on improving the health of the planet.
MIT is a 501(c)(3) institution, and your gift is tax-deductible within the limitations of U.S. federal income tax laws. The Institute’s tax identification number is 04-2103594.
Industry and Public Research Collaborators
MITEI’s Member Program contributes to a critical link in the energy innovation chain — the pairing of MIT’s world-class research teams with innovators in industry.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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