Carolyn Ruppel has been named the deputy director of science and technology of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), effective March 10.
In welcoming Ruppel, MITEI Director William H. Green highlighted her research contributions at the nexus of energy and climate, as well as her experience in multiple science organizations leading and managing complex technical activities, and her years as a member of the faculty of Georgia Institute of Technology. Most recently, Ruppel was the acting senior science advisor to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and a senior-rank geophysicist. She is also an MIT alumna, has been a visiting scientist in the MIT Earth Resources Laboratory, and previously collaborated on a published study with MITEI.
“Carolyn’s understanding of the complexity of the energy transition, as well as the urgency of our work, and her knowledge of MIT, make her the ideal person to join me in working with faculty, scientists, and students across the Institute to decarbonize our energy systems,” said Green.
Earlier in her career, Ruppel was a tenured associate professor of geophysics at Georgia Tech, where she ran a large coastal hydrogeophysics program and founded the Georgia Tech Focused Research Program on Methane Hydrates.
Ruppel joins MITEI after nearly two decades at the USGS. During her tenure at the federal agency, she led the USGS Gas Hydrates Project for nearly 15 years. Prior to joining the USGS, she also served as a program officer at the National Science Foundation. Ruppel has long worked closely with the U.S. Department of Energy. She has led many scientific research cruises, introduced the USGS to new technology to track seafloor methane emissions, and collaborated heavily with civil and chemical engineers, microbiologists, and biogeochemists over the past 25 years.
“I am delighted to be joining MITEI at this critical point along the path to global decarbonization of our energy systems. MIT has so much to contribute to advancing the science, engineering, and policy components of this transition,” Ruppel said. “Both within the U.S. and on the international stage, certain sectors look to MIT to provide the ‘big ideas’ to address the myriad challenges of the energy transition.”
Ruppel’s role will involve engagement across the research, education, and outreach portfolios of MITEI, the hub of energy research at MIT.
A key goal will be strengthening MITEI’s many interactions with faculty across campus. “In the past decade, MIT has welcomed many faculty with research interests relevant to some aspect of decarbonization. MITEI’s member-funded research model provides an opportunity for those faculty to advance their own energy transition-related work.” Ruppel also highlighted MITEI’s efforts to forge stronger connections with other MIT consortia and centers, which she views as important to ensuring MIT’s continued leadership role in the energy transition.
On the education front, Ruppel praised the vibrancy of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, as well as the graduate student and post-doctoral programs funded by MITEI. With so many MIT undergraduates interested in the energy transition and climate change, she recognizes the opportunities to engage with faculty on bolstering undergraduate energy studies.
Ruppel received her PhD in geophysics and geology at MIT in 1992, following a combined SB and SM in 1986. She subsequently held a postdoctoral fellowship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Starting in 2006, Ruppel had a courtesy appointment in the Earth Resources Laboratory in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. Ruppel is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, the highest award given by the U.S. Department of Interior, and an elected fellow of the Geological Society of America.