Sonia Yeh
Research Scientist, ITS-Davis
Faculty member, Graduate Group in Transportation Technology and Policy
Lecturer, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Adjunct research professor, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
Phone: (530) 752-0670
Fax: (530) 752-9812
Email: slyeh@ucdavis.edu
Education
Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy (August 2001), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
M.S. in Environmental Health (May 1997), Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
B.S. in Environmental Science (May 1995), Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Research
Dr. Yeh's research interest is to advance the understanding of future energy systems and their environmental and social impacts, and to seek policy solutions to improve the sustainability of future energy systems. More specifically, Dr. Yeh's research focuses on providing better understanding of how technologies, economic and social changes affect future energy demands and environmental outcomes such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air and water pollution, resource depletions, and land use change. Her work is used to develop government policies, especially incentive-based policies, to induce innovation and the penetration of low-carbon technologies.
Dr. Yeh applies her research to actual policy design and implementation, particularly climate policies in California, including the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32), the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the Sustainability Plan for the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (AB118). She has served on many governmental advisory panels and chaired expert workgroups for governments and NGOs. She serves on the Energy Committee of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies.
Publication
View my publication here or at My Citation of Google Scholar
Recent Project Areas
• Fuels and Fuel Greenhouse gas (GHG) Emissions Regulations
Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Implementation Studies
National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Study (hot!)• Sustainability
Sustainability standards
Water impacts of future transportation fuels
GHG emissions and fossil fuel land use (hot!)
Global land use change
Forestry biomass (hot!)
• Energy System Modeling
Sustainable Transportation Pathways (STEPS) Program lead - Thread 6 – Case Studies and Scenarios• Technological Change and Learning-by-Doing
California Energy Modeling for Policy Analysis
Global Trends and Regional Differences in Lifecycle Energy Efficiency of Energy Resources
Outreach and Services
- California Air Resources Board Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program Review Advisory Panel
- California Air Resources Board Low Carbon Fuel Standard Expert Workgroup on Indirect Land Use Change (March 2010-December 2010) and Sustainability Workgroup
- Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) – Greenhouse Gases Working Group and Implementation Working Group (2008-2009), Implementation Expert Group (2009-present)
- Member of National Academies’ Transportation Research Board Committee: Transportation Energy AD70 (2008 – 2011)
- Member of National Academies’ Transportation Research Board Committee: Transportation Energy and Alternative Fuels (2007 – 2008)
Students
Information for perspective students and about my current students, please click here
Other Interesting Projects
"Robertson Seminar Series: Energy and Transportation," a collaborative project between the Carolina Transportation Program, Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and the Nicholas Institute of Environmental Policy Solutions of the Duke University. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Fall 2006. Principle Investigator.
Highlight: David Greene "Transportation and America's "Oil Addiction": Is there a fix?" see and hear the presentation here (95 MB Flash).
News and Media
In the News
Reports of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard work, presentations, and publications in various trade articles (e.g. AllBussiness, Goliath, Hart Gasification News, SustainableShipping News), news articles (e.g. San Diego News Room, RNewswire-USNewswire, Green Car Congress), government websites (California Air Resources Board, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Transportation, etc), NGO websites (Energy Foundation, Environmental Entrepreneurs, Environmental and Energy Study Institute), blogs, etc.Interviews
Gouged Earth: Big Part of Oil Sands Carbon Footprint (TheTyee.ca)
... significant "but that no one had looked at," says Sonia Yeh, a researcher at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California. ...
Climate Change: Scientists generate first-ever estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from oil development
Jeff Tollefson "Bioelectricity better than biofuels for transport." Nature, doi:10.1038/news.2009.450. 7 May 2009. subscription-free copy here
Naomi Lubick "Environmental costs of shipping." Environmental Science and Technology Online News –Policy News, September 19, 2007
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