Peter Sherman is working with Prof. Mike McElroy on intersections between climate, renewable energy systems, and air quality, ranging from how shifting regional climate affects wind power potentials or pollution concentrations to how energy systems can best exploit renewable resources as they evolve. Learn more about his research.
Xi Yang uses energy modeling to explore the question of “How does technology influence behavior and the public’s energy use?” She constantly seeks to humanize her data, and has adapted her modeling to account for actual energy demands. Learn more about her research into technological solutions for a zero emission society.
Yingying Lu examines active transportation, aging in place, and healthy places. With other Harvard-China Project researchers, she contributes to analysis of environmental health and urban transportation issues. Lu is grateful to her colleagues at the Project and her dissertation advisors who have been “beacons” of sorts, she says, “lead[ing] the way to go further in my research path.” Learn more about her research.
Tianguang Lu sees an interdisciplinary approach at work at Harvard-China Project. “Here, you can collaborate with scholars from many fields—including economics, environment, and energy,” he says. He offers the example of his current research, which is focused on the integration of low-carbon, low-emission power generation into India’s power systems. Learn more about his research.
When Meng Gao was in high school in Nanjing, he remembers seeing a haze settling on the city. “The next day, my teacher told us it wasn’t fog,” says Gao, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard-China Project. “And our teacher told us that if we breathed it, it wouldn’t be good for our health.” For Meng, it was a revelation. “I’d like to do something to contribute to solving that,” he thought. Learn more about his research.
Archana Dayalu's new research began with access to a new data set: Five years’ worth of carbon dioxide data from a site in Miyun, China—about 100 miles northeast of Beijing—jointly operated by Harvard-China Project and Tsinghua University. “Sure, it was just one site. But could I use that to evaluate a suite of different carbon dioxide emissions inventories for that region of China?” she wondered. Learn more about Archana's research.
When ChengHe Guan arrived at Harvard GSD, he started working on simulations to help researchers project how cities and regions might grow. Today, he’s using this methodology to plan the low-carbon cities and regions of tomorrow. “When we consider the components and how we operate and construct the city, we can actually reduce the energy cost and promote healthier, better living for the people,” says ChengHe. Learn more about his research.
For Professor Jing CAO, the Harvard-China Project's cooperative environment is an anomaly in higher education. That atmosphere, she notes, enables the greater mission. “We’re practically and cohesively combining all of these fields—science and economics and law and public health and public policy—to do interdisciplinary research.” Learn more about Professor Jing Cao's research.
During Xinyu CHEN’s Ph.D. studies at Tsinghua University, he spent a year working on projects with China’s National Development and Reform Commission, which was having trouble building a plan for a modern “smart grid” that incorporated more renewable energy sources. Learn more about Xinyu Chen's research.
Shaojie Song credits the Harvard-China Project with widening the scope of his work. “It is not like my other academic groups, which focus on one issue like chemistry or physics,” he says. “It is more interdisciplinary.” The other important element, he says, is the access to resident scholars. “We can share the data, we can share ideas, and we can work in tandem.” Learn more about his research.