California Institute for Energy and Environment

#BECC2025 features eight topic areas, all centered around this year's theme of: Energizing a Future for All. Learn more and submit your abstract by April 1!

Changemakers shaping the future of clean energy: Submit an abstract for The Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference (BECC) by April 1! BECC is the premier event focused on understanding individual and organizational behavior and decision-making related to energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and sustainability.?BECC 2025 will be held November 2-5 at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento, California. ?? Learn more: beccconference.org CITRIS and the Banatao Institute | The Energy Coalition | The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) | Stanford Energy #Behavior #ClimateChange #Energy #Environment #Sustainability

?? We are excited to welcome Rich Brown?as an academic researcher! Rich comes to CIEE and the CITRIS and the Banatao Institute Climate initiative after over 30 years at Berkeley Lab, where he led a variety of projects related to energy in buildings. At CIEE, Rich will contribute to the?Oakland EcoBlock?project, which is developing and demonstrating neighborhood-scale approaches to decarbonizing existing buildings. ?? Read more: bit.ly/rich-joins-ciee

Introducing CIEE's refreshed logo! ?? ?? ?? Since 1989, CIEE has been a leader in California's energy and climate research, and as the Institute has grown and changed over the years, so has its logo. This newest update enhances digital accessibility and continues the evolution of CIEE’s visual identity, which reflects the Institute’s expanding research efforts, challenges, and partnerships over the years. ?? Read more on CIEE's visual evolution: bit.ly/2025cieelogorefresh

We invite PIs at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Davis Health, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz to apply for up to $60K for projects that strengthen University of California connections and drive novel tech applications. Areas of interest are: — Aerospace and aviation — AI, autonomy and robotics — Climate resilience and sustainability — Digital health Proposals are due April 22: https://lnkd.in/gkYfx44a University of California, Innovation & Entrepreneurship | University of California, Berkeley | UC Berkeley Innovation & Entrepreneurship | UC Berkeley College of Engineering | University of California, Davis | UC Davis Office of Research | UC Davis College of Engineering | University of California, Merced | CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Merced University of California, Santa Cruz | Baskin Engineering at UCSC #ResearchFunding #UCBerkeley #UCDavis #UCMerced #UCSC

As communities across the country consider ways to boost their resilience to climate change, one Oakland neighborhood is already demonstrating the big impact of relatively small infrastructure upgrades. This is EcoBlock: a pilot project led by the California Institute for Energy and Environment at the University of California, Berkeley, that is transforming an existing block of residential and commercial properties with shared energy-efficient and water-efficient technologies. Our team, led by Craig Boman, P.E., recently helped to install a stormwater management facility to treat, detain and retain the entire block’s stormwater within the existing city right of way. Craig will be speaking this Monday, February 24 at the Stormwater USA Conference in Orange County, CA. He'll first be part of a panel discussion of urban stormwater solutions; then, he'll present the ways that strategic planning and creative engineering of stormwater infrastructure can balance ecology, cost-effectiveness and community needs. Learn more about EcoBlock and its actionable approach to block-scale community retrofits here: https://lnkd.in/e7Ytk7RV And check out the full conference program here: https://lnkd.in/ex_3asxA We hope to see you in Irvine!

Last month, CIEE’s Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Center and Berkeley Lab co-hosted the 2025 National Institute, an annual conference on sustainability, energy, and healthy buildings. ??? Now in its final year, the event drew over 150 attendees from academia, government, and industry, tackling topics ranging from novel building technologies to technical workforce education and development. A highlight of the event was a roundtable on the High-Performance Building Operations Professional (HPBOP) certification, a national initiative led by the BEST Center that aims to validate professionals who demonstrate advanced mastery of building performance concepts. “We want to elevate people … [and] stimulate their interest in getting the certification,” said Peter Crabtree, a visiting project scientist at CIEE and the principal investigator of the BEST Center. "There’s an organizational commitment that goes along with high performance.” ?? Read more: https://lnkd.in/geFvw9cA #Decarbonization #Electrification #EnergyEfficiency #SmartBuildings #BuildingTech

CIEE affiliate Dr. Miriam Aczel, Ph.D. recently contributed to two publications that highlight the importance of aligning local and collective climate action. ?? The first is a co-authored study in the Journal of Cleaner Production that describes how mangrove restoration policies can inform global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ?? In addition, Miriam reviewed marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's book, “What If We Get It Right?” in Science Magazine. A collection of expert insights, the book emphasizes collaboration and outlines an optimistic and actionable approach to addressing climate change. ?? Read more: https://lnkd.in/gUxGuHwY #ClimateAction #ClimateJustice #ClimateResearch #ClimateResilience #Environment #Sustainability

?? University of California, Berkeley grad students working in energy efficiency: Don't miss the chance to apply for the 2025 Art Rosenfeld Award! Applications are due next Friday, Feb. 14. The award is open to currently enrolled Masters, Ph.D., and J.D. students; and offers $10k to advance research on efficient technologies, strategies, and policies. ?? Learn more: bit.ly/ara2025 #UCBerkeley #GraduateResearch #STEMResearch #ClimateResearch #EnergyEfficiency #RenewableEnergy #CleanEnergy #energy #sustainability

In case you missed it: CITRIS and the Banatao Institute had a stellar 2024, with much to celebrate! ?? We are excited to share the ways in which we have sparked discovery among students, faculty and researchers across our four campuses at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz. Check out our 2024 annual report: https://lnkd.in/gg64ADXA University of California, Innovation & Entrepreneurship | UC Berkeley Innovation & Entrepreneurship | UC Davis Venture Catalyst | UC Davis Office of Research | CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Merced | University of California, Merced | University of California, Santa Cruz Alexandre Bayen | Camille Crittenden | Tamara Bock | Julie Shapiro | Cheryl Martinez #Research #Innovation #California #IT #InformationTechnology