Mission net-zero America: The nation-building path to a prosperous, net-zero emissions economy

Abstract

Jesse D. Jenkins is an assistant professor at Princeton University in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. He is a macro-scale energy systems engineer with a focus on the rapidly evolving electricity sector and leads the Princeton ZERO Lab, which focuses on improving and applying optimization-based energy systems models to evaluate low-carbon energy technologies and generate insights to guide policy and planning decisions. Jesse earned a PhD and SM from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was previously a postdoctoral environmental fellow at Harvard University. Erin N. Mayfield is an assistant professor at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College focusing her research on sustainable-systems engineering and public policy. She develops and applies multi-objective computational models that integrate techno-economic, environmental, and social equity objectives to inform energy and industrial infrastructure transitions. Prior to her academic research career, her work with other organizations included regulatory assessments of environmental rule-makings, hazardous waste remediation in environmental justice communities, and ecosystem services valuation related to petrochemical and pesticide contamination. Erin has a PhD in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and was previously a postdoctoral scholar at Princeton University. Eric Larson is a senior research engineer at Princeton University leading the Energy Systems Analysis Group in the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. He holds courtesy appointments with the High Meadows Environmental Institute and the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment in the School of Public and International Affairs. His research, intersecting engineering, environmental science, economics, and public policy, aims to identify sustainable, engineering-based solutions to major energy-related problems and to help inform public and private decision-making in the U.S. and elsewhere. Eric has a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota. Stephen Pacala is the Frederick D. Petrie professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University and director of the Princeton Carbon Mitigation Initiative. His research interests are in the design and testing of mathematical models to investigate interactions between greenhouse gases, climate, and the biosphere and to predict their effects on local and global ecosystems. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Steve has a PhD in biology from Stanford University. Chris Greig is the Theodora D. and William H. Walton III senior research scientist in the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. His research interests lie in energy transitions, economics, and policy; capital project investment decision-making and implementation; and carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Chris has a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Queensland and is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. His academic career was preceded by 25 years in senior project and executive roles in the resources and energy sectors.