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EPP/MechE’s Kate Whitefoot was quoted in Fast Company about why EV manufacturers emphasize certain metrics – such as range – in their advertising. “If you can advertise that EVs do have longer range, like up to 300 miles, then consumers are much more willing to purchase EVs and value them equally to gasoline vehicles,” said Whitefoot.
Paulina Jaramillo and Michael Blackhurst of the Open Energy Outlook Initiative explain their goals of creating open access energy system models that can support decision-making toward climate stabilization.
EPP’s Ramteen Sioshansi ranked #26 in the energy storage specialty on ScholarGPS. Highly Ranked Scholars™ are identified by career productivity levels (number of publications), as well as the quality and impact of their work. Sioshansi’s research focuses on the integration of advanced energy technologies, including renewable energy, energy storage, and electric transportation, into energy systems. He also works in energy policy and electricity-market design, especially as they pertain to advanced energy technologies.
EPP/MechE’s Jeremy Michalek spoke on Marketplace about how commuters are increasingly using rideshare services instead of owning a car. “Because people work hybrid, work from home some of the days of the week, that changes the economics,” said Michalek.
EPP’s Baruch Fischhoff wrote a retrospective for Science on the late Daniel Kahneman, Nobel prize-winning psychologist and author of works including Thinking, Fast and Slow. Kahneman, who was Fischhoff’s graduate advisor along with Amos Tversky, was awarded an honorary degree from CMU in 2012. “The imprint of Danny’s thinking and counsel have been lasting — and made EPP the most natural home in the world,” Fischhoff said.
EPP’s Ramteen Sioshansi spoke with Marketplace about using battery energy as an alternative, sustainable source of energy. Sioshansi specifically discussed how batteries currently cannot completely replace fossil fuels. “The handful of hours when the wind and solar is not producing enough, well, we still have gas generators that can basically fill that gap,” he said.
EPP’s Paulina Jaramillo spoke with Heatmap about the Treasury Department’s proposed “three pillars” rules around tax credits for hydrogen production in the U.S. A group of senators cited CMU analysis, led by Jaramillo, in a letter criticizing the proposed rules for artificially hindering the environmental benefits of green hydrogen. Jaramillo argued that the Treasury should subsidize electrolytic hydrogen regardless of how it’s powered. “We need to deploy this infrastructure,” Jaramillo said. “We need to deploy it now so it’s available later.”
EPP PhD candidate Sabrina Curtis wrote "What’s happening to Chinook Salmon? Traditional Knowledge & Research Experts' Understandings and Perspective," a piece informed by her research into increasing resource management resilience in the face of climate change, for the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association newsletter.
Curtis, a federally recognized Dena'ina tribe member who is co-advised by Valerie Karplus and Baruch Fischhoff, combines western scientific methods and traditional indigenous knowledge for a uniquely holistic research approach.
Photo credit: Brianna Ketzler
‘Green hydrogen’ refers to hydrogen that is created by splitting water molecules with renewable electricity rather than the more usual way of heating carbon dioxide. However, a new Harvard study has cast some doubt on green hydrogen’s viability due to its cost to distribute and manufacture. However, the study doesn’t discredit green hydrogen as an idea, as EPP’s Valerie Karplus told Axios, “If we look longer term, the potential for both technological innovation and clever business models to bring down some of those costs is enormous.”