Summary

Chris is excited to be working on a wide range of energy and environmental issues at the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis.   He obtained his PhD (2003) from Princeton University, where his research (in collaboration with the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering) focused on fuel cell polymer membranes. He also worked closely with the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies (now part of Princeton Environmental Institute).  His undergraduate and master's degrees focused on biology, environmental science and engineering.  Chris is now working within the STEPS program at ITS on analyzing economic and environmental implications of a variety of energy pathways and is a director for the Infrastructure System Analysis Thread.

STEPS Research Interests

Regional Analysis and Evaluation of H₂ Infrastructure – Chris is working on understanding issues related to the evolution of the hydrogen economy on a regional and geographic context.  Major work includes developing simplified H₂ pathway models for hydrogen production and distribution and optimizing economics and location of production facilities and distribution networks using GIS.

    - SSCHISM - Simplified steady-state model of hydrogen infrastructure for multiple pathways in the United States

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wayne Leighty, Joan Ogden and Christopher Yang. Modeling Transitions in the California Light Duty Vehicles Sector to Achieve Deep Reductions in Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Energy Policy. In Press. Link.

David McCollum, Christopher Yang, Sonia Yeh, Joan Ogden. Deep Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scenarios for California - Strategic Implications from the CA-TIMES Energy-Economic Systems Model. Energy Strategy Reviews. In Press.  Link.

Jonn Axsen, Kenneth S. Kurani, Ryan McCarthy and Christopher Yang. Plug-in hybrid vehicle GHG impacts in California: Integrating consumer-informed recharge profiles with an electricity-dispatch model. Energy Policy. 39 1617–1629. 2011. Link

McCarthy, Ryan and Christopher Yang. Determining marginal electricity for near-term plug-in and fuel cell vehicle demands in California: Impacts on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Power Sources. 195(7): 2099-2109. 2010.

David McCollum and Christopher Yang. Achieving deep reductions in US transport greenhouse gas emissions: scenario analysis and policy implications. Energy Policy. 2009. 37 (12). pp 5580-5596. 2009.

Christopher Yang, David McCollum, Ryan McCarthy, and Wayne Leighty. Meeting an 80% Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation by 2050: A Case Study in California, USA. Transportation Research, Part D: Transport and Environment. 2009. 14. pp. 147-156.

Nils Johnson, Christopher Yang, and Joan Ogden. A GIS-Based Assessment Of Coal-Based Hydrogen Infrastructure Deployment In The State Of Ohio. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2008. 33 (20) pp. 5287-5303. DOI Link

Christopher Yang. Hydrogen and electricity: Parallels, interactions, and convergence. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2008. 33 (8), 1977 - 1994. Download Link

Christopher Yang and Joan Ogden. Determining the Lowest-Cost Hydrogen Delivery Mode. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 32, 268-286. 2007. ITS Download Link

Chris Yang, S. Srinivasan, A.B. Bocarsly, S. Tulyani, J.B. Benziger. A comparison of physical properties and fuel cell performance of Nafion and zirconium phosphate/Nafion composite membranes. Journal of Membrane Science. 237, 145-161. 2004. Link

P. Costamagna, Christopher Yang, A.B. Bocarsly and S. Srinivasan. Nafion 115/zirconium phosphate composite membranes for operation of PEMFCs above 100C. Electrochimica Acta. Vol. 47 (7). 1023 -1033, 2002. Link

Christopher Yang, P. Costamagna, S. Srinivasan, J. Benziger, A.B. Bocarsly. Approaches and technical challenges to high temperature operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. J. Power Sources. 103 (1): 1-9, Dec 30 2001. Link

Christopher Yang, S. Srinivasan, A. S. Arico, P. Creti, V. Baglio, and V. Antonucci. Composite Nafion/Zirconium Phosphate Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Operation at High Temperature. Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, 4 (4) A31-A34, 2001. Link

Supramaniam Srinivasan, Renaut Mosdale, Philippe Stevens, Christopher Yang. Fuel Cells: Reaching the Era of Clean and Efficient Power Generation in the Twenty-First Century. Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 24:281-328. 1999. Link

Christopher Yang, Stephen Schneider. Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Scenarios: Sensitivity to Social and Technological Factors in Three Regions. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 2 (4):373-404,1997. Link

Books and Book Chapters

Yang, Christopher, and Sonia Yeh. 2012. "The future of low-carbon transportation fuels." In Physics of Sustainable Energy II: Using Energy Efficiently and Producing it Renewably, edited by D. Hafemeister, D. Kammen, B. Goss Levi and P. Schwartz. Berkeley, California, USA, 5-6 March 2011: Springer.

In Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways: A Research Summary for Decision Makers. Edited by Joan Ogden and Lorraine Anderson. UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. 2011.

• Jonn Axsen, Christopher Yang, Ryan McCarthy, Andrew Burke, Kenneth S. Kurani, and Tom Turrentine. Chapter 2: The Plug-in Electric Vehicle Pathway.
• Joan Ogden, Christopher Yang, Joshua Cunningham, Nils Johnson, Xuping Li, Michael Nicholas, Nathan Parker, and Yongling Sun. Chapter 3: The Hydrogen Fuel Pathway.
• Joan Ogden, Christopher Yang, Yueyue Fan, and Nathan Parker. Chapter 5: Comparing Infrastructure Requirements
• Christopher Yang, David McCollum, and Wayne Leighty. Chapter 8: Scenarios for Deep Reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
• Joan Ogden, Christopher Yang, and Nathan Parker. Chapter 9: Transition Scenarios for the U.S. Light-Duty Sector.

Joan Ogden and Christopher Yang. Chapter 15. Build-up of a hydrogen infrastructure in the US. from Perspectives of a hydrogen economy. Michael Ball, Martin Wietschel, Eds. Cambridge. 2009.

Supramaniam Srinivasan and Christopher Yang. Chapter 11. “Competing Technologies” in Fuel Cells. From Fundamentals to Applications. Springer. 2006.

Selected Conference, Technical and Workshop Reports

Christopher Yang.  Fuel Electricity and Plug-In Electric Vehicles in an LCFS.  White paper for National Low Carbon Fuel Standard Study.  Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis. Link to White paper | Appendix

Christopher Yang, Joan Ogden, Dan Sperling and Roland Hwang. California’s Energy Future: Transportation Energy Use in California. California Council on Science and Technology. December 2011. Link

California Council on Science and Technology. California's Energy Future - The View to 2050. Link: CCST page

Ryan McCarthy, Christopher Yang and Joan Ogden. California Energy Demand Scenario Projections to 2050. Research Report for Advanced Energy Pathways Project as part of Public Interest Energy Research Program for California Energy Commission. November 7, 2006.

Comparison Of Idealized And Real-World City Station Siting Models For Hydrogen Distribution. Christopher Yang, Michael Nicholas, and Joan Ogden. Proceedings of the 2006 Annual NHA Hydrogen Conference (March 12-16, 2006).

Committee on Novel Approaches to the Management of Greenhouse Gases from Energy Systems, National Research Council. Novel Approaches to Carbon Management: Separation, Capture, Sequestration, and Conversion to Useful Products - Workshop Report. 2003. Link: National Academies Press.

Courses Taught

Fall 2004-2005 - The Hydrogen Economy - Technology, Pathways, Economics and Policy. 

Spring 2004-2005 - Integrated Energy and Resource Planning Course

Spring 2005-2006 - The Hydrogen Economy - Technology, Pathways, Economics and Policy.

Education

Ph.D. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Princeton University, 2003. Research collaboration with the department of Chemistry, Chris’s dissertation research focused on modified perfluorosulfonic acid fuel cell membranes for operation at high temperature and reduced relative humidity. While at Princeton, he spent a summer (2000) at the CNR-TAE in Messina, Italy working on high temperature membranes for H₂ and methanol fuel cells.

M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Stanford University, 1998. Chris received his Masters degree from Stanford in Environmental Engineering and Science.

B.S. Earth Systems. Stanford University, 1996. Chris majored in Earth Systems with an emphasis on the Biosphere (Ecology and Environmental Biology). His Goldman Honors thesis, with advisor Stephen Schneider, focused on modeling global CO₂ emissions as a function of social and technological factors.

Experience

Research Associate –National Research Council, Washington DC; 2002 – 2003. Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship working with the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems (BEES) on research projects relating to novel approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the transition to a hydrogen economy.

Graduate Student Researcher - Princeton University; 1998 – 2003. Materials research on composite inorganic-perfluorinated sulfonic acid membranes for fuel cells operating at elevated temperatures and reduced humidity. Research activities include synthesizing composite membranes, physical and chemical characterization of polymer materials, and testing of performance and properties related to fuel cell operation.

Visiting Researcher – CNR-ITAE, Messina, Italy; 2000. Summer visiting researcher at a National Laboratory in Messina, Italy researching high temperature fuel cell (DMFC and PEMFC) membranes.

Activities and Interests

In his spare time, Chris enjoys a range of activities including backpacking, rock climbing, playing tennis, guitar, and cooking.