Research Team

We are a group strengthened by our diversity, both in background and interests. We do interdisciplinary work focused on improving the social and environmental performance of human infrastructure systems in a community-conscious way, especially related to energy and justice.

Interested in joining us? In general I am looking for people who are question driven, have strong written communication skills, and are interested in systems-level but physically grounded research. If you have specific questions, please reach out to me at egrubert@nd.edu — in the interest of fairness, I try to keep evaluative conversations like CV reviews, interviews, etc. to the confines of our formal application process, but I’m happy to answer questions about projects and logistics outside of that process. I advise graduate students in Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences (CEEES) degree programs. Graduate application deadlines for fall admissions are generally in mid-December for Keough and February for CEEES, with details here and here.

I am also almost always looking for undergraduate researchers (for now, just Notre Dame students). Contact me at egrubert@nd.edu if that is interesting.

Fall 2023 update: I am likely to hire at least 1 PhD student in CEEES for Fall 2024, likely in the area of deep decarbonization in the US.

Our Team (under construction — ND updates to come)

Postdoctoral Fellows

PhD Students

MS Students

Undergraduate Researchers

Alumni

John Mulrow

John Mulrow conducted postdoctoral research on life cycle assessment of electric vehicle charging system. His research focuses on capturing the impacts of the digital layer in these systems that is often hidden from view.

Adrienne Marshall

Adrienne Marshall conducted postdoctoral research working to understand the role of hydropower in increasingly decarbonized energy systems and a changing climate. More info here

Susie Ha

Susie Ha completed her PhD in the interdisciplinary area where data science, civil engineering, and public policy meet to address sustainability issues in energy policy, focused on application of natural language processing with deep learning to find interesting insights for policy makers on sustainability of infrastructure systems.

Victoria Dean

Victoria Dean conducted PhD research at the intersection of urban infrastructure development, environmental equity, and engineering education.

Alex Maxim

Alex Maxim completed her PhD on the impacts of climate change and climate migration on urban infrastructure systems, with a focus on the development of equitable, sustainable, and resilient systems that prioritize just transitions and the well-being of the vulnerable communities they are meant to serve.

Abi Cohen

Abigail Cohen conducted PhD research on building circular food systems by coupling waste management and agriculture.

Mathias Zacarias

Mathias Zacarias conducted MS research on decarbonization pathways of energy systems and their impacts on society, the economy, and the environment.

Manasi Gali

Manasi Gali conducted undergraduate research in solid waste management and future renewable energy goals.

Jeremy Chen

Jeremy Chen conducted undergraduate research in Environmental Engineering.

Talia Herrera

Talia Herrera conducted undergraduate research on the decarbonization of the energy sector and logistics of Brownfields projects.

Clara Molnar

Clara Molnar conducted undergraduate research on power plant property taxes.

Trina Reinhart

Katrina (‘Trina’) Reinhart conducted undergraduate research on Carbon Dioxide Removal feasibility studies.

Isaac Schmidt

Isaac Schmidt conducted undergraduate research analyzing the life cycle costs and greenhouse gas emissions of electric vehicles when compared to more conventional vehicles.

Christa Shreve

Christa Shreve conducted undergraduate research on sustainable infrastructure.

Jenna Krieger conducted life cycle stormwater costing research as a master’s student in the group. Check out that work here and here.

Diana Burns

Diana Burns conducted research on methane emissions and energy system vulnerability and graduated in Spring 2021. Prior to attending Georgia Tech, she received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tufts University and worked for a utility company in New York.