A PERSONAL INTRODUCTION TO OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES FOR: RESEARCH AND ACTIVISM IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY

Daniel M. Kammen

Director of Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL)

Professor in the Energy and Resources Group Energy and Resources Group (ERG)

Professor of Public Policy Goldman School of Public Policy

Quick links to:Curriculum Vitae, Bio

Class of '35 Distinguished Chair in Energy University of California, Berkeley

Tel: (510) 642-1139 (ERG), Fax: (510) 642-1085 (ERG)
Tel: (510) 643-2243 (RAEL), Fax: (510) 643-6344 (RAEL)

kammen@berkeley.edu

Corrections and additions are appreciated.

INTRODUCTION:

I am often asked by young scholars from the social and physical sciences (and particularly by physicists), about the options, avenues, and support resources available to them as they expand their interests, or contemplate career shifts into the area broadly defined as the science and policy of `energy and the environment'. Providing a complete, or even coherent, guide to the degree programs, fellowships, job opportunities, mentors available, and pitfalls is probably impossible, and I won’t even make an attempt. Instead, I have collected here a highly personalized set of opinions and some pointers to resources that people newly interested in this field might want to consult.

USEFUL EXPERIENCE AND FORMS OF TRAINING:

One of the most common questions I am asked, and probably the least answerable is, "when should I try to move from mainstream physics (or substitute here chemistry, engineering, economics, etc. ...) to energy and environmental research? Should I get a Ph.D. in a field of science, then get policy training, or should I get an interdisciplinary degree in the first place?" There are obviously a myriad of good answers, as well as stories of success, and of frustration.

My only consistent response is to study what you enjoy over what think will afford you some idealized credential. Enthusiasm, dedication, and willingness to do the hard work to learn the literature and the state-of-the-art in other fields may be the best measure of when to ‘make the change’. This is certainly harder than it sounds; some tremendously capable scientists have succumbed to the ‘prophet in a foreign land’ mentality described in Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. They often ended up disappointed, having done an insufficient amount of back ground training and research. Their work in the energy and environmental field is often only a brief foray, or worse, a dabbling.

One particularly prickly issue relating to the question of ‘when to enter the field’ concerns the extent to which disciplinary, or interdisciplinary training is crucial. Most people in the field today were trained in traditional disciplines: physics; economics; engineering, and so forth. Not surprisingly they tend to view disciplinary training as an important foundation and as a useful credential. Equally unsurprising, this view is far from universal. While there are a few truly interdisciplinary doctoral programs and centers -- such as the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) at the University of California, Berkeley -- they are rare. Graduate education, however, is constantly evolving. Many universities have now formed, at least on paper, interdisciplinary research or teaching units, often organized around questions of environmental science, social science, and/or policy. The students who will shortly begin to emerge from these programs will have a very different training (and perspective?) from the previous generations.

One Case History:

In my case, I completed a BA, MA, and then a Ph.D., each in physics, focusing my dissertation on solid state physics, neural networks, information theory and biological computing. I began my post-doctoral fellowship at Caltech not altogether sure which way I would go: continue my ‘physics’ research on neural networks or branch into energy and environmental issues? Caltech in general, and my advisor in particular, were exceptionally flexible and supportive. I was funded by the Weizmann Fellowship that freed my advisor from direct salary responsibility for me, but left travel, equipment, and other expenses as well as the most expensive component of all: investment in training a young scholar. During my postdoctoral fellowship my work ‘migrated’ from about an 80:20 physics:development mix to a reversal three years later. During that time, my advisor Christof Koch in the Computation and Neural Systems Group (Division of Biology) supported my increasing contacts with faculty in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, and my increasingly frequent trips to ERG and the International Energy Group at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and to Central America where I pursued field research. The Division of Biology also encouraged (and funded) me to teach a course on “Tropical Development and Conservation”. My path was neither fully planned, nor particularly coherent. I simply kept working on what interested me. The most important feature, and really the only constant, in my case was the tremendous amount of advice and (generally) encouragement that I received from people already working on energy and environmental issues, as well as broadly curious and unselfish scholars such as Christof Koch.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

‘Getting started’ in energy and environmental work is not clear-cut in that there are few courses, or conferences devoted to the topic. At the same time, most everyone working in this area will go out of their way to help you. That is not an invitation, however, to let others do your homework for you. If you are an undergraduate, or early graduate student it is certainly not expected that you are familiar with the energy and environmental organizations or literature. But, you need to have done some advance reading and searching on the WWW. A good start are the journals listed at the end of this document. As a senior graduate student or recent Ph.D. you need to have done considerably more, by one account “three-fourths of the people applying our research group for post-doctoral positions are unable to articulate their interests beyond simple statements of interdisciplinarity.” There is no excuse for not reading a sampling of papers by the people you plan to approach. This is not only useful intellectually, but it also shows that you are serious. It is remarkable how many people call up and say that they are interested in ‘energy and development’, ‘the environment’, or ‘appropriate technology’ and have read next to nothing in the field. You would never do this (I hope!) in a traditional field.

Consistently I am told that a cover letter and resume are useful in advance of a phone call. Indicate in the cover letter (briefly!): (a) your accomplishments to date; (b) the types of research or activities you would like to undertake in the future; and (c) how you could contribute to the goals of the laboratory or organization you are contacting. Suggest in this letter that you will be following up with a phone call. The letter is useful both because it gives you the opening line of your phone conversation (‘My name is Jill Johnson, I sent you a letter a couple of weeks ago’) and it will have already forced you to figure out your fit with the organization you are contacting. If you get nervous and tongue-tied during the phone call, you can refer to the letter.

As for the timing involved in switching fields there is no formula and the only advice is simple (but surprising how often people don’t consider it). If you are 6 - 12 months away from a Ph.D. stick it out. Switch later. If you have just finished the second year of a five-year process, maybe it makes sense to switch now.

Many job openings are not posted -- if they are posted, they may already have someone in mind. The best way to find an opening is often not through employment/human resources offices but through individual researchers in your area of interest. The key to finding these researchers is networking. Call professors who might have contacts; call authors of articles; call local NGO's and ask them for advice on who to contact in finding a position. Get a list of possible people and call all of them and ask them for advice, etc. Someone along the line may have a position open or know of one or may come across one in the near future. Similarly, look into what conferences exist and attend them if at all possible. Many of the journals list meetings (Environment, the EPRI Journal, etc. ...). Once there, ask questions.

Many people who are trying to make a transition into science policy start at a very high level of education and are expecting a high level position in this new field. Don't be discouraged by volunteer work or short-term internships or entry-level positions. Your advanced degrees may mean that you may be able to work your way up faster, but as you make this transition, you'll need a lot of training and can't necessarily expect to walk into your ideal position right away.

VARIOUS COLLECTED OPINIONS AND BITS OF ADVICE:

  • Start Talking to People

    There is no clear ‘path’, no university, agency, or society, that consistently trains people in this area. Similarly, jobs in this area often arise in unexpected environments. The more diverse contacts you have, the more likely you are to identify interesting opportunities.

  • Develop a Thick Skin

    Rejection, and skepticism are rampant in this field, where projects are chronically underfunded and understaffed. Be prepared to justify your interest and explain your credentials, and to persevere.

  • Learn Some Economics

    Neoclassical economic arguments, good and bad, are a standard part of the diet of energy and environmental analysis. Regardless of whether you regard neoclassical economic as a crucial tool, or as a means mainly to obfuscate the truth, it has an important role in current thought. You do yourself a disservice to begin to work in this area without at least a grounding in economics.

  • Contact People, not Programs

    Address your inquiries to individuals. Take the time to research who is engaged in what project (again, read their papers). In the same vein, mention your contacts: if Dr. Doe recommended that you call Dr. Smith, say so (and indicate this in your letter, too).

  • Specify Your References

    Do not list ‘references provided upon request’ on your resume. Let people know who you would ask for a recommendation. If possible, tailor the list to the organization you are approaching. You may not have taken a course in energy policy (few have!), but if you volunteered at a relevant organization, list it and your reference there up front. Similarly, many technical skills are transferable. If you are applying to, or contacting, a group modeling climate change and you have taken a course in fluid dynamics, inorganic chemistry, or classical mechanics, make it explicit.

    ACADEMIC RESEARCH AND TEACHING UNITS:

    AAAS Guide to Science and Technology Policy Programs

    A particularly useful reference is the Guide to Graduate Education in Science and Engineering and Public Policy (1995), published by the Directorate for Science and Policy Programs of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS Press: Washington, DC).

    In addition, North Carolina State University has a good site for information on Science, Technology, & Society Programs. In fact, this may be the best starting point as the individual entries were written by the programs themselves. There are roughly 25 U. S. based programs listed here, including some of the most well known ones at Boston University, Cambridge University, Carnegie Mellon University, Clark University, Harvard University, MIT, Princeton University, and the University of Maryland.

    A few of the programs have stood out to me personally, they are:

    A FEW INTRODUCTIONS TO NATIONAL LABORATORIES AND SOCIETIES

    The U. S. National Laboratories could be a useful starting point as many of the labs have energy and environmental programs. A massive listing is that of the U. S. Departments of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network.

    • Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
      LBNL is a federal research lab for the U.S. Department of Energy. In addition to its expertise in the fields of high-energy physics, engineering, and biomedical science, the laboratory has been active in energy and environmental research for over two decades.

      The Laboratory's Energy and Environment Division with a staff of more than 300 is composed of several research programs and coordinating centers. Key research focuses include: development of efficient building technologies, measurement and analysis of indoor air quality in buildings, energy efficiency policy - domestic and international. The Center for Building Sciencecoordinates interdisciplinary research initiatives within the Division, while the California Institute for Energy Efficiency undertakes research and demonstration of efficient technologies on behalf of utilities and private sector partners.

      Energy and Environment Division
      Dr. Mark Levine, Director
      1 Cyclotron Road
      Berkeley, CA 94720

      In addition energy and environment programs also exist within Los Alamos National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Argonne National Laboratory, and Sandia.

    • National Renewable Energy Laboratory
      1617 Cole Boulevard
      Golden, CO 80401-3000 USA

      This is a particularly rich resource both in terms of materials (much of it maintained on the internet) programs, and researchers.

      NREL has research programs in: alternate fuels; builds and energy systems; industrial technologies; photovoltaics; wind energy; advanced vehicles; and a variety of publication series, data centers, and educational and training programs.

      There is also a group at NREL focused on women and sustainable energy resources. For more information on this group, contact:

      Dr. Carol Riordan
      National Renewable Energy Laboratory
      1617 Cole Boulevard
      Golden, CO 80401-3000 USA
      Telephone: 1-303-275-3094
      FAX: 1-303-275-3097
      E-mail address: carol_riordan@nrel.gov

    • National Center for Atmospheric Research
      NCAR, 1850 Table Mesa Dr., Boulder, CO. 80303
      P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO. 80307-3000
      Tel: (303) 497-1000

      This is one of the leading centers in the US which works on climate change modeling.

    • U. S. Agency for International Development (US AID)

      Jeff Seabright
      513 SA-18
      Office of Energy, Environment and Technology
      Washington, DC 20523-1810
      703-875-4465

    • National Research Council
      Office of Personnel and Appointments
      Attention: Staff Position Openings List
      2101 Constitution Ave, NW
      Washington, DC 20418

      They are a research arm of the National Academy of Sciences. There are some limited fellowships offered, in addition to analytic research jobs.

    • The Forum on Physics and Society, of the American Physical Society

      A particularly useful place to find out about the work and career trajectories of scientists who are active in the nexus of science and the public interest.

    NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS

    The U. S. National Laboratories could be a useful starting point as many of the labs have energy and environmental programs.

    Science and Technology Fellowships

    A number of professional societies (as well as some companies such as AT&T/Lucent Technologies, Bechtel Inc., etc....) in science and engineering award fellowships to work in Congress and Government Agencies. These afford an excellent means for young researchers interested in policy work to tackle important issues, acquire unique on-the-job training and experience, and develop contacts.

    • AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowships.

      The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) sponsors nine science and technology policy fellowship programs for scientists and engineers. The fellowships provide the opportunity for accomplished and societally-aware postdoctoral to midcareer scientists and engineers to participate in and contribute to the public policymaking process of the federal government. In addition, AAAS sponsors a Technology Policy fellowship, which offers senior level technical managers from industry the opportunity to spend one year as Fellows in Washington, DC, working at the RAND Science and Technology Policy Institute.

      The fellowships programs have several basic requirements in common. If you have a Ph.D. or an equivalent degree in the social, physical, or biological sciences, or are an engineer with a master’s degree and at least three years of professional experience at the time of application, you are eligible to apply for AAAS’s one-year Science and Technology Policy Fellowships. The Revelle Fellowship and Technology Policy Fellowship require additional experience. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and members of AAAS. Federal employees are not eligible for the fellowships. A stipend of up to $52,000 is offered, in addition to relocation and in-service travel allotments.

      AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowships Program
      1200 New York Avenue, NW
      Washington, DC 20005

      Tel: 202 326 6700
      Fax: 202 289 4950
      E-mail: science_policy@aaas.org

      For the Congressional Fellowships approximately 30 other national science and engineering societies sponsor Congressional Science and Engineering Fellows. This type of fellowship is an opportunity for scientists to spend a year working on Capitol Hill. Fellows serve their term on the staff of a senator, representative, or congressional committee. They are afforded an opportunity to learn the legislative process and explore science policy issues from the lawmakers' perspective. In turn, Fellows may lend scientific and technical expertise to public policy issues. If you are intersted in this type of fellowship you should also apply directly to your relevant professional societies. It is good to apply to as many societies as possible considering your disciplinary expertise. Stipends, application procedures, timetables, and deadlines vary.

    RESEARCH INSTITUTES, INDUSTRIAL & CONSULTING OPPORTUNITIES:

    • Energy Works 8201 Corporate Drive
      Landover, MD 20785

      A spinoff of Bechtel Group, Inc. and Pacificorp. They specialize in renewable energy for developing countries, and have current interests in India and Indonesia, among others.

    • Electric Power Research Institute
      3412 Hillview Ave
      Palo Alto, CA 94304

      This institute had a broad mission to research new energy and energy efficiency technologies. With the restructuring of the US utilities, it isn't clear what will happen to EPRI. They publish a huge variety of technical and policy information, as well as a useful magazine, the EPRI Journal.

    • Presidio of San Francisco

      The Presidio of San Francisco is intended to help businesses, citizen organizations, and governments to promote a new vision of comprehensive worldwide economic prosperity, which necessarily incorporates environmental stewardship and the enhancement of human development. The Center is located at the new Presidio National Park which is being developed as a working lbaoratory for a sustainable future.

      For more information about activities at the Presidio of San Francisco contact:

      Dale Sartor
      Applications Team, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
      1 Cyclotron Rd. MS-90-3058
      Berkeley, CA. 94720
      dasartor@lbl.gov

      510-486-5988
      510-486-5394 FAX

    • Tata Energy Research Institute
      Darbari Seth Block
      Habitat Place, Lodi Road
      New Delhi 110 003
      INDIA
      Common mail-box: mailbox@teri.ernet.in (Group account, please specify addressee by name)
      Tel:+91-11-4622246, +91-11-4601550
      Fax:+91-11-4621770, +91-11-4632609
      Telex: 31-61593 TERI IN
      US Office:
      1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500
      Arlington, VA 22209

    • Stockholm Environmental Institute
      SEI-HQ Address
      Lilla Nygatan, 1
      Box 2142,
      S-103 14 Stockholm,
      Sweden

      Tel:+46 8 412 1400
      Fax:+46 8 723 0348

      E-mail: postmaster@sei.se

      SEI is an independent, international research institute specializing in sustainable development and environment issues. It works at local, national, regional and global policy levels.

    • Tellus Institute

      Tellus Institute is the home of the Boston Center of the Stockholm Environment Institute. SEI-Boston activities are organized into three programs. The Sustainable Development Strategies program, the Energy, Environment and Climate program, and the Water and Development program.

      11 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116-3411, USA
      Telephone: (617) 266-5400
      Fax: (617) 266-8303
      Email: INFO@tellus.org

    • Winrock International

      Clean Energy Program
      1611 North Kent St., #600
      Arlington, VA 22209
      Tel: 704-525-9430

    • The World Bank
      In particular, contact the Industry and Energy Department

    • The International Finance Corporation

      The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the world's largest multilateral source of financing for private enterprise in emerging economies. Its mandate is to promote the growth of productive and profitable private enterprises in its developing member countries. The IFC has made the environment one of its most urgent priorities. To ensure that investments meet the highest standards, each project is subject to a detailed environmental review, which ensures that pollution and negative environmental impacts are eliminated, environmental benefits are enhanced, and worker health and safety are safeguarded.

      The Corporations's Environemtal Division develops poicies, procedures and programs, and coordinates activites with the world Bank and other agencies, including the Global Environmental Facility and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocal.

      The IFC's risk management activities include the environmental review of all projects whicha re examined for their environmental impact and compliance with applicable World Bank policies and guidelines and host country requirements. Projects are monitored during implementation and measures are taken to ensure that adverse environmental impacts are minimized.

      In order to achieve greater transparency in its activities, the IFC revised its environmental review procedure in FY 94 to include public disclosure requirements. This involves the release of environmental information about projects through the World Bank InfoShop.

      International Finance Corporation
      2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
      Washington, DC 20433 USA
      Tel.: (202) 477 1234

    NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

    The Environmental Careers Organization provides short-term positions for students at all levels. They have offices across the country and write a book called The Complete Guide to Environmental Careers.

    • American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
      1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 801, Washington, D.C. 20036
      Research and Conferences: (202) 429-8873
      Publications: (202) 429-0063

      The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection. ACEEE is a well-respected think tank - they write books and hold conferences.

    • American Wind Energy Association
      122 C Street, NW, Suite 380
      Washington, DC 20001
      Tel:(202) 383-2500
      Fax: (202) 383-2505

      Focused on trade/lobbying/info organization for the wind industry. This is a good source of information for who is doing what and where.

    • Appropriate Technology International
      1828 L Street, NW Suite 1000
      Washington, DC 20036
      Tel: 202-293-4600

      Since 1978 Appropriate Technology International (ATI) has worked to bring self-help business development services to small producers in low-income communities. From branch and associate offices in a dozen countries, ATI and its partners help micro and small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs transform their livelihoods by adding value to basic commodities, safeguarding the resource base on which their enterprise depends, and participating in profitable markets. In 1995 alone, ATI programs are directly benefiting over 112,000 people in 22 nations worldwide, more than half of whom are women.

    • Asia Regional Cookstove Program (ARECOP)

      P. O. Box 19 Bulaksumur
      Yogyakarta
      Indonesia
      Tel: (62) 274-561-247
      Fax: (62) 274-563-423
      E-mail: anton_soedjarwo@ins.health.org

    • Consortium for International Earth Science Information (CIESIN) at Columbia University
      61 Route 9W
      PO Box 1000
      Palisades, NY 10964
      Phone: 1-(845) 365-8988
      FAX: 1-(845) 365-8922
      General E-mail: ciesin.info@ciesin.columbia.edu

      Washington, DC Office
      Phone: 1-(202) 314-3822
      FAX: 1-(202) 488-8679

      Roberta Balstad Miller, Director
      roberta@ciesin.columbia.edu

      Robert Chen, Deputy Director
      bob.chen@ciesin.columbia.edu

      A particularly rich web-site is maintained by CIESIN. CIESIN is focused on the social dimensions of global environmental management and change.

    • Consortium of Sustainable Energy networks International (COSENI)
      P. O. Box 677
      Long Valley, NJ 07853
      Tel: 908-813-2794
      Fax: 908-979-0045
      Email: krapf@eden.rutgers.edu

      Publishes a newsletter and is active in promoting renewable energy policy in Washington, DC.

    • Center for Renewable Energy & Sustainable Technology (CREST)

      Michael Totten, Director
      1725 K Street N.W., Suite 402, Washington, DC 20006
      Phone: (202) 289-5368
      Fax: (202) 289-5354
      Email: mpt@crest.org

      Crest will email you a list of several hundred renewable energy researchers

    • Environnement et Developpement du Tiers Monde--Programme Energie (ENDA-TM)
      54 rue Carnot
      B.P. 3370
      Dakar, Senegal
      Phone: 221 - 22 59 83
      E-Mail: (for Msr. Masse Lo) MasseLo@ENDADak.gn.apc.org
      E-Mail: (for Youba Sokona, Coordinator Enda Energy) ysokona@enda.sn

    • Enersol
      1 Summer Street
      Somerville, MA 02143
      Tel: 617-623-5845
      Photovoltaic projects in Latin America

    • Energy Foundation

      75 Federal Street
      San Francisco, CA 94107
      Tel: 415-546-7400

      They are supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and they sponsor a large amount of energy work in the US.

    • Environmental Defense
      257 Park Avenue South
      New York, NY 10010
      EDF Membership: 1-800-684-3322

      One of the major NGO's/activist groups which works on a large variety of energy and environmental issues. They have both scientists and lawyers working on issues which range from climate change to population growth to industrial ecology. They list job openings on their web page.

    • International Network for Sustainable Energy (INforSE)
      P. O. Box 2059, DK-1013
      Copenhagen K
      Denmark
      Tel: 45-33121307
      Fax: 45-33121308

      INforSE publishes a newsletter (available on-line). The newsletter contains an extensive listing of the contacts for many groups working on renewables. It is highly recommended.

    • Intermediate Technology Development Group
      Myson House, Railway Terrace
      Rugby, CV21 3HT
      UK
      Tel: (44) 0788-560631
      Fax: (44) 0788- 540-270

      Nairobi Office:

      ITDG - Kenya
      22 Chiromo Access Road
      Off Riverside Drive
      P. O. Box 39493
      Nairobi, Kenya
      Tel: (254-2) 442108/446243/444887
      Fax: (254-2) 445166

    • International Voluntary Services
      1424 16th St., NW
      Suite 204
      Washington, DC 20036

      Similar to Peace Corps with a focus on professionals with work experience.

    • Natural Resources Defense Council
      71 Stevenson Street
      San Francisco, CA 94105
      Tel: 415-777-0220

    • Solar Electric Light Fund
      1734 20th St, NW
      Washington, DC 20009

      They install and manage household PV projects in Vietnam and India.

    • Solar Energy Industries Association
      122 C St, NW, 4th Fl
      Washington, DC 20001
      Tel: 202-383-2600
      Fax: 202-383-2670
      Email: plowenth@seia.org

      A trade/lobbying/info organization for the solar industry; a good source of information on who is doing what and where.

    • Union of Concerned Scientists
      26 Church Street
      Cambridge, MA 02238

      One of the major science-based NGO's/activist groups. Traditionally, UCS has worked on energy and arms control issues. They have broadened their scope to include transportation and agriculture.

    • Volunteers in Technical Assistance.
      Suite 500
      1600 Wilson Boulevard
      Arlington, Virginia 22209
      Tel.: 703-276-1800, Fax: 703-243-1865, Email: vita@vita.org

      They are involved in many aspects of development planning and implementation, from fact-finding, to disaster relief, to information and community services, to publications.

    • World Resources Institute
      10 G Street, NE (Suite 800), Washington, DC 20002 USA
      Tel: 202/729-7600; fax: 202/729-7610
      Email: lauralee@wri.org(p> The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a policy research center created in late 1982 to help governments, international organizations, and private businesses address a fundamental question: How can societies meet basic human needs and nurture economic growth without undermining the natural resources and environmental integrity on which life, economic vitality, and international security depend?

    JOURNALS TO CONSULT:

    • Annual Review of Energy and the Environment
    • The Ecologist
    • Energy
    • Energy Policy
    • Environment
    • Global Environmental Change
    • Intermediate Technology

    NEWSLETTERS:

    Acknowledgments:

    This evolving compendium reflects the experiences and input of a number of energy and environmental scientists. I owe a particular debt of candid assessments and testimonials (many used here verbatim) to Sivan Kartha, Ann Kinzig, and Debra Lew.

    The researchers who encouraged me along the way, and challenged me to clarify my thinking and interests in effect served as an extended ‘second Ph.D. committee’ after I completed my formal training in Physics. This group includes William Clark (J. F. Kennedy School, Harvard University), John Harte, John Holdren, and Dick Norgaard (Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley), Susanna Hecht (Graduate School of Planning, University of California, Los Angeles), Christof Koch (Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology), David Lee (Department of Physics, Cornell University), Thomas R. Odhiambo (African Academy of Sciences), Arthur Schawlow (Department of Physics, Stanford University), Ted Scudder (Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology), Kirk R. Smith (School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley), Robert Socolow (Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Princeton University), Frank von Hippel and Burton Singer (Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University), and Richard Wilson (Department of Physics, Harvard University).