Jared Cohon

President Emeritus and University Professor

Bio

Jared Cohon started his academic career at Johns Hopkins where he rose through the academic ranks and served in administrative positions from 1973 to 1992, when he left for Yale where he was Dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies until 1997.

Dr. Cohon served as Carnegie Mellon's eighth president from 1997 to 2013. During that time, the university made progress on many fronts, including teaching and research, international activities, diversity and economic development in southwest Pennsylvania.  

He has worked on large-scale water problems in Argentina, China, India and the U.S. and on energy facility issues, especially nuclear waste. He serves on several government and non-profit boards.  In 2014 and 2015, he co-chaired the Commission to Review and Evaluate the National Energy Laboratories, and he chaired the National Academies Board on Energy and Environment Systems from 2016 to 2022.

Education

PhD 1973 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MS 1972 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BS 1969 - University of Pennsylvania

Research

Research Group: IESS, CREST, SETS

Areas of Interest

Publications

Maghfirra, D., J.L. Cohon, P. Jaramillo, and M.G. Morgan. 2021. Optimizing an equitable micro-hydropower deployment: Application of a multi-objective method for rural Indonesia.  Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis 2021; 1-12.

Skidmore, T.S. and J.L.Cohon, 2023, A Multicriteria Decision Analysis Framework for Developing and Evaluating Coastal Retreat Policy, Integrated Environmental Assessment And Management, Vol 19, No. 1, pp 83-98.

Schwetschenau, S. E., J. M. VanBriesen, and J. L. Cohon. 2019. “Integrated Multiobjective Optimization and Simulation Model Applied to Drinking Water Treatment Placement in the Context of Existing Infrastructure.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 145 (11): 04019048.

Mayfield, E.N., J.L. Cohon, N.Z. Muller, I.L. Azevedo, and A.L. Robinson. 2019. “Cumulative  Environmental and Employment Impacts of the Shale Gas Boom.” Nature Sustainability, 2, 1122–1131.

Cohon, J.L. 2003. "Multiobjective Programming and Planning", Dover Publications (originally published by Academic Press in 1978).

Recent Awards

• 2018: Lifetime Acheivement Award, Pennsylvania Environmental Council
• 2013: conferred honorary doctorate, Carnegie Mellon University
• 2013: conferred honorary doctorate, University of Pittsburgh
• 2013: named University Professor 
• 2012: elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
• 2012: conferred honorary doctorate, Korean Advanced Institute for Science and Technology
• 2011: National Engineering Award, American Association of Engineering Societies
• 2009: Distinguished Member, American Society of Civil Engineering

Courses

• 19-694 Leadership Innovation Mgmt 
• 19-707 Multi-Criteria Decision Making