The National Science Foundation CAREER Program has awarded a University researcher $430,000 to change the climate of the nation’s climate change policy.
Assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering Erin Baker received the grant to support her continued research into cost-effective energy technology investments.
“The overall purpose of my research is to inform climate-related energy technology, primarily at the national government level,” Baker said, calling it a two-step process. “First we analyze energy technologies, and then we communicate that analysis.”
In two years of Department of Energy-funded research, Baker has consulted with engineers and scientists alike on possible failures and breakthroughs in energy technologies, from solar to biofuels.
Baker is using the data from past research to construct computer models to find the maximum social benefit of adopting different energy technologies. The models are generated the same way pharmaceutical companies determine which investments into drug research will result in the highest financial returns.
“Instead of maximizing profits, we will maximize the social benefit of energy technologies by minimizing the cost of research and development investment, the cost of emissions reductions and the damage from climate change,” Baker said. “This model should determine which energy portfolio will accomplish this.”
Baker is currently applying the computer models to seven different energy technologies; nuclear, solar, carbon capture and sequestration, bio-electricity, batteries, biofuels, and wind and solar grid integration.
A second computer model – a pre-existing assessment model called the Deterministic Integrated Climate Economy Model (DICE) – used by Baker combines the economics of climate change with the science of climate change.
“The name DICE drives home the point that, when it comes to climate change, our country has really been rolling the dice,” Baker said.
Baker’s research addresses the level of uncertainty government officials have when making climate and technology-related policy decisions. According to Baker, without taking into consideration the possibility of technology failure or the future effects of climate change, policy makers could make serious errors in their decisions.
Using a simple computer program to visually represent the impact of different technology portfolios, Baker is hoping to give elected officials a better picture of the future with a level of uncertainty already accounted for.
“Our hope is that this interactivity will allow policy makers to make better decisions about their investments in the best possible technology portfolio,” Baker said.
According to the NSF, CAREER awards are given to young faculty members to support for early career development activities and to recognize students and scholars most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century.
Baker is the nineteenth member of the engineering department at UMass to receive a CAREER award or an equivalent grant.
Derrick Perkins can be reached at [email protected].
