Stanford Energy Seminar | From molecules to macroeconomics: What can we learn from modeling energy system transition at different resolutions? | Valerie Karplus, Carnegie Mellon University

The Stanford Energy Seminar has been a mainstay of energy engagement at Stanford for nearly 20 years and is one of the flagship programs of the Precourt Institute for Energy. We aim to bring a wide variety of perspectives to the Stanford community – academics, entrepreneurs, utilities, non-profits, and more. 

Talk Abstract

Macro-energy systems modelers are regularly asked to capture greater detail in technology and behavior, often without a sense of how these additions to models could affect projected outcomes. In this talk, Valerie will discuss which attributes of technology and behavior can most affect modeled outcomes and policy prescriptions, using examples from industrial and power sector decarbonization. The talk will consider the tradeoffs associated with building detail into models compared to drawing insights from parallel, complementary studies. Conclusions will focus on ways that interdisciplinary collaboration can advance both approaches and ultimately inform the design of effective policy for the energy transition as deployment scales.

Speaker Bio 

Valerie Karplus is a professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy and associate director at the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.

Karplus studies resource and environmental management in organizations operating in diverse national and industry contexts, with a focus on the role of institutions and management practices in explaining performance. Areas of expertise include innovation in global corporate and industrial supply chains, regional approaches to workforce and economic revitalization, and the integrated design and evaluation of public policies. Karplus has taught courses on public policy analysis, global business strategy and organization, entrepreneurship, and the political economy of energy transitions. At CMU, she runs the Laboratory for Energy and Organizations. Karplus is also a faculty affiliate of the MIT Energy Initiative, the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, and the MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy.

She has previously worked in the development policy section of the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, Germany, as a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow, and in the biotechnology industry in Beijing, China, as a Luce Scholar. From 2011 to 2016, she co-founded and directed the MIT-Tsinghua China Energy and Climate Project a five-year research effort focused on analyzing the design of energy and climate change policy in China, and its domestic and global impacts. Karplus previously served on the faculty at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Karplus holds a BS in biochemistry and political science from Yale University and a Ph.D. in engineering systems from MIT.

Anyone with an interest in energy is welcome to join! You can enjoy seminars in the following ways:

• Attend live. The auditorium may change quarter by quarter, so check each seminar event to confirm the location. Explore the current quarter's schedule.
• Watch live in a browser livestream if available. Check each seminar event for its unique livestream URL.
• Watch recordings of past seminars 
  • Available on the Past Energy Seminars page and the Energy Seminars playlist of the Stanford Energy YouTube channel
• (For students) Take the seminar as a 1-unit class (CEE 301/ENERGY 301/MS&E 494)

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