Anthony Cheng is an ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) working with Dr. Alison Fritz, with a visiting appointment at the WE3 Lab at Stanford University under Dr. Meagan Mauter. He will join the faculty of the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Fall 2027 as an Anderson-Interface Early Career Assistant Professor. His research advances understanding of the supply chains, critical materials production, and manufacturing systems that underpin energy security, energy transitions, and decarbonization. He received his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in Engineering and Public Policy and his undergraduate degree from MIT in Materials Science & Engineering.

Dr. Jacqueline A. Dowling (Jackie) models energy systems to guide the global transition to clean energy. She is an assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa, where her research program analyzes natural resource constraints, guides technology innovation, and targets decarbonization solutions. Jackie integrates weather data into macro-energy system models to inform reliable infrastructure planning and technology development. Recent focus areas include long-duration energy storage and clean heat. Her dissertation combined techno-economic analysis with materials chemistry to assess the value of diverse energy storage and conversion technologies in wind- and solar-based electricity systems. Jackie earned a PhD in Chemistry with a minor in Environmental Science and Engineering from Caltech and was a Stanford Energy Postdoctoral Fellow. Her research on long-duration energy storage has been cited by major utilities and in decarbonization plans at the international, national, and state levels.

Prof. Amro M. Farid is the Alexander Crombie Humphreys Chair Professor in Economics of Engineering at the School of Systems and Enterprises at the Stevens Institute of Technology. He is also the Principal Systems Scientist for CSIRO’s Smart Energy Mission, a Visiting Scientist at MIT Mechanical Engineering, and CEO of Engineering Systems Analytics LLC. At Stevens, he leads the Laboratory for Intelligent Integrated Networks of Engineering Systems (LIINES) and has authored over 150 peer reviewed publications in Smart Power Grids, Hydrogen-Energy-Water Nexus , Electrified Transportation Systems, Industrial Production & Supply Chain Energy Management, Smart Cities, Regions, & Nations.

Wilson Ricks is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Princeton University's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering program, and a former Macro-Energy Systems Fellow. His research focuses on the use of optimization modeling tools to evaluate the impacts of policies and technologies on the decarbonization of energy systems. Current areas of focus include next-generation geothermal technologies and Scope 2 emissions accounting.

Edgar Virgüez is a Research Engineer in Stanford University’s Department of Energy Science & Engineering, where he works on sustainable, low-carbon energy systems. His research has produced more than 20 publications with over 800 citations in leading journals. Globally, he serves as an expert reviewer for the Earthshot Prize, the International Energy Agency, and Schmidt Sciences. Recognized with the AGU Science for Solutions Award (2025), which honors significant contributions in applying Earth and space sciences to societal challenges, he is also an award-winning educator, author, and trustee whose leadership bridges technology, policy, and sustainability.

Erin Baker is a Distinguished Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the Faculty Director of the Energy Transition Institute, which is focused on stakeholder-engaged research at the intersection of energy technology and social equity. She was formerly the director of an interdisciplinary graduate program on Offshore Wind Energy Engineering, Environmental Impacts, and Policy. She has a PhD in Engineering-Economic Systems & Operations Research from the department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University and a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from U.C. Berkeley. She combines operations research methods and economics to decision-making under uncertainty, with a focus on Energy Justice and publicly-funded energy technology Research & Development portfolios in the face of climate change.

Michael is an Associate Professor jointly appointed between the School for Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. He researches how to decarbonize energy systems while making those systems robust to climate change. He serves on the advisory committees of several climate adaptation initiatives led by industry and national labs. He received his PhD in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University in 2017.

Morgan Edwards is an Assistant Professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin—Madison and affiliated faculty with the Nelson Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment. Her research models the role of technology in addressing the threat of climate change and assesses policies to accelerate equitable energy transitions. Current projects focus on topics such as the role of carbon dioxide removal in meeting net zero emissions targets and the equity impacts of building electrification policies. Professor Edwards holds a PhD in Engineering Systems from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a SM in Technology and Policy from MIT, and a BS in Environmental Science and Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to coming to Madison, she was a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland. 

Dr. Benjamin D. Leibowicz is an Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the endowed Banks McLaurin Fellowship in Engineering. His primary appointment is in the Operations Research and Industrial Engineering graduate program, and he also holds a courtesy appointment in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. In his research, Dr. Leibowicz develops mathematical models and methods to improve decision-making on energy and environmental policy and strategy. He approaches these topics from an interdisciplinary perspective that combine methods from optimization, systems analysis, economic modeling, game theory, and stochastic control. Prior to joining UT Austin, Dr. Leibowicz received both PhD and MS degrees in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, and earned a BA in Physics with a minor in Economics from Harvard University.

Lane D. Smith is a research scientist working with the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. His research interests include energy policy, electricity rate design, energy affordability, and macro-energy systems (with a particular focus on the electric grid). Lane holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Denver.

Micah S. Ziegler is an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Micah evaluates sustainable energy and chemical technologies, their impact, and their potential. His research helps to shape robust strategies to accelerate the improvement and deployment of technologies that can enable a global transition to sustainable and equitable energy systems. His work informs research and development, public policy, and financial investment. Micah conducted postdoctoral research in energy systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Chemistry from Yale University. In addition, he worked in the Climate and Energy Program at the World Resources Institute and was a Luce Scholar assigned to the Business Environment Council in Hong Kong.

Jesse Jenkins is an assistant professor at Princeton University with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment. He is also an affiliated faculty with the Center for Policy Research in Energy and Environment at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and an associated faculty at the Princeton Environmental Institute. Jesse is a macro-scale energy systems engineer with a focus on the rapidly evolving electricity sector, including the transition to zero-carbon resources, the proliferation of distributed energy resources, and the role of electricity in economy-wide decarbonization. Jesse completed a PhD in Engineering Systems (’18) and MS in Technology and Policy (’14) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS in Computer and Information Science (’06) at the University of Oregon.

Dr. Jeremiah Johnson is an Associate Professor at North Carolina State University’s Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering department. He joined NCSU in 2017, as a part of the Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program cluster hire in Sustainable Energy Systems and Policy and currently serves as the Senior Faculty Fellow for KIETS Climate Leaders Program. Dr. Johnson is also a faculty advisor for the NC State Sustainability Fund and member of the university’s Sustainability Council. His research evaluates the environmental impacts of emerging technologies and changes to infrastructure systems, using system modeling and experimental approaches in collaborative and interdisciplinary teams. Example projects include conducting life cycle assessment of sedimentary basin CO2-enabled geothermal power, integrating human health considerations into power system operations, and developing open-source energy system models to analyze decarbonization pathway. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, and the Department of Energy, among other sources. Dr. Johnson teaches courses on sustainable infrastructure systems, renewable energy generation, and life cycle assessment and, in 2023, he received NC State’s university-wide Outstanding Teaching Award and was inducted into the university’s Academy of Outstanding Teachers.

Dr. Johnson earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Yale University. Upon completion of his graduate studies, he spent several years working in the energy industry, advising utility executives on renewable energy strategy. He then returned to academia as a Research Scientist and Assistant Professor at University of Michigan’s School for Environment & Sustainability. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, running, hiking, and spending time with his family.

John Weyant is Professor of Management Science and Engineering, Director of the Energy Modeling Forum, a Senior Fellow of the Precourt Institute for Energy and an affiliated faculty member of the Stanford School of Earth, Environment and Energy Sciences, the Woods Institute for the Environment, and the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford. His current research focuses on analysis of multi-sector, multi-region coupled human and earth systems dynamics, global change systems analysis, energy technology assessment, and models for strategic planning. Weyant was a founder and serves as chairman of the Integrated Assessment Modeling Consortium, a thirteen year old collaboratory with over 60 member institutions from around the world. He has been an active adviser to the United Nations, the European Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of State, and the Environmental Protection Agency. In California, he has been and adviser to the California Air Resources, the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission.

Jessica Jewell is an Associate Professor in Energy Transitions at the Department of Space, Earth and Environment at Chalmers University and the Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation at the University of Bergen. Her research focuses on the feasibility of climate action and quantifying the dynamics and mechanisms of energy transitions using a variety of disciplinary approaches and methods. She is a recipient of a European Research Council's Starting Grant as well as the Principal Investigator of a project funded by the Norwegian Research Council and a leader of work packages in collaborative research projects supported by European and Swedish funding agencies.

Patricia Levi was the Chair of the Macro-Energy Systems Workshop Steering Committee. She completed her PhD in 2021 in the energy and environment track at the Stanford University department of Management Science and Engineering. Levi was the lead author on “Macro-Energy Systems: Toward a New Discipline,” a paper published in Joule last fall that ultimately inspired this workshop. She was advised by Prof. John Weyant, and her research uses tools from economics and operations research to improve policy and reduce environmental impacts in the electricity sector.