The California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) is calling for applications for the 2025 Art Rosenfeld Award for Energy Efficiency. Named in honor of CIEE’s founder, Art Rosenfeld, this fellowship provides $10,000 in funding to a UC Berkeley graduate student who is committed to advancing research in energy efficiency. Applications are open now and will close on February 14, 2025.
Current UC Berkeley students enrolled in a Ph.D., Masters, J.D. or professional program are invited to apply. The award seeks to support students who aim to make a useful contribution to energy efficiency technologies, strategies (including strategies that address behavior), and policies. The successful applicant will be selected for their academic merit, passion, and commitment to pursuing both educational and career paths with a focus on energy efficiency.
Learn more about the application process
Past Art Rosenfeld Award Recipients
Past award recipients have made substantial contributions to the field across technical, social, and policy dimensions, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research in addressing global energy challenges.
2023 Art Rosenfeld Winner
Eleanor Adachi, a dual-degree master’s student in Public Policy and Energy and Resources at UC Berkeley, was recognized for her research on dynamic electricity pricing. Adachi’s work focuses on creating energy policies to incentivize customers to electrify their vehicles and buildings while ensuring affordable and reliable access to electricity.
The support of the Art Rosenfeld Award enabled Adachi to expand her work investigating the trade-offs between distribution system upgrades and electric vehicle charging loads. Another one of her projects, which explores the pricing mechanism of electricity grids shifting towards zero marginal cost generation, was accepted to the Power and Energy Conference at Illinois. Her research also extends into the realm of social justice, examining the infrastructure investments needed to support distributed energy resources in disadvantaged communities.
2022 Art Rosenfeld Winner
Alanna Cooney, a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering, focuses on thermal energy storage (TES) systems for data centers. With a background in HVAC design, Cooney’s research aims to reduce the energy usage and carbon footprint of data centers by developing an energy-efficient TES system managed by machine learning.
Using the model that she developed with the Art Rosenfeld Award, Cooney was able to design a promising thermal storage system that improves flexibility, reduces cost, and enhances the performance of thermal storage systems in both concentrated solar plants and data center applications. Cooney also studies how different design parameters of energy storage ensembles affect the ability to adapt to changing operating conditions.
2021 Art Rosenfeld Winner
Taryn Fransen, a PhD student with UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, was recognized for her research on climate and energy policy. Her work centers on how international climate commitments, such as the Paris Agreement’s Nationally Determined Contributions , influence domestic energy policies in G20 countries.
Fransen’s research has had real-world impacts, allowing her to testify before Congress and engage with policymakers and media at major climate events such as the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). She credits the Rosenfeld Award for supporting her during a pivotal time in her research.
Learn more about the Rosenfeld award and other past recipients
