2019 EEM Master of Science graduate Stephanie González Llamas recently assumed a new position as an Energy Engineer at Limbach, Inc. (https://www.limbachinc.com/). Limbach specializes in designing, installing, and maintaining mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems that are essential to the operation of critical facilities. Stephanie says “I'm part of the engineering team and I support all branches of the company with energy efficiency solutions related to the buildings' MEP systems and their operations. The goal is to help customers meet their energy goals through innovative solutions to save energy and reduce their buildings' carbon footprint. I'm still local to the DC area, but it's always exciting to work on projects outside of DC and see the overall push for more sustainable buildings.” Stephanie previously worked for PEER Consultants, P.C. in Washington, D.C.
2006 EEM Ph.D. graduate Dr. Michael Helwig has been appointed as a full-time Associate Teaching Professor at the Colorado School of Mines starting with the Fall 2024 semester. After earning his Ph.D. at GW, Dr. Helwig worked as a research analyst at The Institute for Defense Analyses, as a senior engineer for the National Renewable Energy Lab, and as an instructor at Iowa State University and Kansas State University. Before coming to GW, Mike served a 20-year career as an officer in the United States Navy. The focus of Mike’s dissertation in the EEM program addressed developing optimization models that demonstrated federal agencies could meet alternative fuel vehicle acquisition and alternative fuel use requirements much more efficiently than the agencies were undertaking.
In the early Spring 2024 semester, EEMI Director of Smart Grid Technologies Dr. Payman Dehghanian received the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education from the U.S. Department of State. That award is an annual award that recognizes young scientists who have demonstrated a commitment to both excellence in scientific research, as evidenced by scholarly publication, and cooperation with scientists from other APEC member economies, including inclusive and interdisciplinary collaborations.
On January 22, 2024, EEMI Director for Climate Change Dr. Rachael Jonassen participated in a Korean institutional visit to benchmark climate change response strategies. Dr. Lee Dong-eun represented the Korea International Cooperation Agency in discussing a project entitled “Climate Trends Survey and Technical Advisory Research” which is focused on the increasing importance of climate change. The Korean agency is actively formulating strategies for climate change responses and is benchmarking climate change response strategies and the status of advanced institutions, establishing diverse cooperative relationships with various organizations in the field. Dr. Dong-eun wrote that “(t)he George Washington University's Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) has promoted strategies for GHG management and emphasized professional standards. Meeting with your organization is expected to enhance our understanding of U.S. initiatives such as CARB or RGGI related to greenhouse gas (GHG).”
EEM graduate Sumanth Balesh currently is working as the Director of Product Certification and Compliance at Blue Bird, the company that makes yellow school buses. Sumanth is responsible for safety and emissions compliance of the company's school bus business line. Sumanth says that he investigates environmental emissions through transportation and the approach regulatory agencies have been taking to ensure air quality improvements.
In July 2024, current EEM Master of Science student Ifeoluwa Olaniyan was awarded the Women’s International Network of Utility Professionals (WiNUP) Julie Kiene Scholarship for the 2024-2025 academic year.
In the Spring 2024 semester, a review of EEMI Executive Director Dr. Jonathan Deason’s recent book Handbook Of Multi-Level Climate Actions: Sparking and Sustaining Transformative Approaches appeared in the Italian Journal of Ethics & Social Sciences. The review can be seen at https://oikonomia.it/index.php/it/?view=article&id=1277. Although it is written in Italian, Chrome and other browsers will translate it automatically (using the English link).
In February 2024, EEMI Director of Sustainable Energy Professor Scott Sklar was interviewed on the PBS Marketplace public radio show. An article discussing that program and quoting Professor Sklar expensively, entitled “Why Lithium Prices Have Been On a Roller Coaster Ride,” can be seen at https://www.marketplace.org/2024/02/06/why-lithium-prices-have-been-on-a-roller-coaster-ride/.
Former EEM graduate student Catherine Donovan spent last year in Almaty, Kazakhstan on a Boren Fellowship, which is a government scholarship to study a foreign language. Cate studied Russian, and Kazakh, and conducted research with a local colleague on Kazakh-China water relations, particularly the Irtysh River Basin which has its headwaters in upper Xinxiang, including doing an inventory of available data from the Kazakh side.
On March 13, 2024, the Washington Post published a letter to the editor written by EEMI Director of Sustainable Energy Professor Scott Sklar taking issue with an opinion piece entitled “Keeping the Lights on in Electricity-Hungry America.” In his letter, Professor Sklar said “It’s a shame that politicians and regulators don’t appear willing to require the lowest cost approaches to address the potential overloading of the traditional electric grid. This will result in more power outages, extremely higher costs of electricity, increased use of dwindling fresh water and exponential increases in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.” A copy of Professor Sklar’s letter can be seen at this link: Washington Post letter
On March 27-28, 2024, EEMI Director of Environmental Law and Policy, Law Professor Randy Abate chaired a major symposium at GW entitled “Environmental Justice Solutions Summit: Strategic Litigation, Resilience, and Hope.” The event featured a keynote address by Prof. Robert R.M. Verchick of Loyola New Orleans School of Law and a book signing of Professor Verchick’s climate change book The Octopus in the Parking Garage, as well as 18 other notable speakers over the two-day event.