This summer, through the generous continued support of the Harvard Office of Career Services, the Harvard-China Project coordinated its fourth summer of undergraduate research. This year, seven students were paired with Harvard-China Project researchers for the “Decarbonization in China and Asia” summer research assistantships.
Eddie Dai '25 and Genevieve Raushenbush '24 worked with Harvard Graduate School of Design Professor Ann Forsyth and Harvard-China Project Associate Yingying Lyu for the "STGA Lishui Community Study." They constructed a database detailing the geographical layout and features in the community of Lishui in Nanjing, China. They pinpointed key variables (recreational facilities, public transit stops, health clinics, and more) to help construct the map to better understand the context Lishui's aging population lives in, to help the team devise digital technologies to improve peoples' ability to age in place.
Jack Walker '24 continued his research on air quality and climate benefits of decarbonizing the shipping industry. Says Jack, "After previously working with postdoctoral fellow Peter Sherman during the past academic year, our focus this summer was to examine the air quality impacts of three main emissions pathways for the shipping industry: business-as-usual, 50% emissions reduction, and 100% emissions reduction. Peter was essential to the success of the project, always ready to help explain something that may not make sense."
Blake Chen '25 also worked with Dr. Sherman, but on an "Analysis of the Indirect Impacts of Methane on Global Chemistry and Climate Models." They explored the secondary effects of methane and how methane-related processes are represented by climate models. Using the Harvard supercomputer, they ran simulations for different climate models based on varying methane emissions levels, and analyzed the effect these changes had on other atmospheric gases.
Andres Hernandez Gonzalez '24 worked with Haiyang Lin, postdoctoral fellow, on "Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia as Energy Carriers." They used the relative costs of today's technology to define parameters that can be optimized to provide the least cost of hydrogen given localized production. He says, "Dr. Lin has inspired me to do my best by offering his wisdom and making this assistantship fun. My passion for this work comes from my ultimate goal to work in the hydrogen economy, perhaps working for or running my own green energy start up."
Joshua Cai '24 worked with Mun S. Ho, Research Associate, for "Economics of Electricity System Reform and Household Demand." He explains, "my research project studied the issues of the Chinese electricity system, and how issues, such as coal overcapacity, affected the efficiency of overall electricity generation. Ever since the world has been moving towards a carbon-neutral future, China has been attempting to move towards a greater reliance on renewable energy, but this has economic implications on China's existing coal industry."
Rachel Seevers '23 investigated the "Global Policy and Technology Surrounding Steel Sector Decarbonization" with Xi Yang, Research Associate. Says Rachel, "My job was to investigate the standing governmental policies (both restrictions and incentives) of the steel sector, to determine gaps and trends that need to be addressed. I identified key drivers like time, money, and governmental structure and was able to complete a cross comparison between countries. With my work, researchers are able to have a clearer picture of the policy world their technologies would be implemented into and the gaps that need to be addressed."