About

Christopher Yang, Ph.D.

  • Research Scientist, ITS-Davis
  • Infrastructure analysis of hydrogen and electricity for vehicle fuels
  • Role of transportation alternative fuels and advanced vehicles in reducing energy system greenhouse gas emissions
  • Energy system modeling for policy analysis

Biography

Christopher Yang is a research scientist working within the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways program at ITS-Davis and a Faculty member in the Transportation Technology and Policy graduate program. His research focuses on analysis of alternative fuels and advanced vehicles and their role in reducing transportation greenhouse gas emissions, with an emphasis on hydrogen and electricity supply and infrastructure.
Current research projects include (1) infrastructure modeling of electricity and hydrogen supply to understand the implications (i.e.  supply mix, cost and emissions) of increasing use of these energy carriers as transportation fuels; (2) energy system modeling to understand the role of technologies and energy resources across many end-use and supply sectors in achieving very deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in California (i.e. CA-TIMES model) and (3) the broader role of transportation in meeting these emissions targets.

He is a co-director for infrastructure system analysis research within the STEPS/NextSTEPS program.

Previous Experience:
Research Associate – National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC.  Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship working with the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems (BEES) (2002-2003).
Graduate Student Researcher – Princeton University.  Materials research on composite polymer membranes for fuel cells operating at elevated temperatures and reduce humidity.  (1998-2003)
Visiting Researcher – CNR-ITAE, Messina, Italy.  Summer visiting researcher at Italian National Laboratory in Messina researching medium temperature fuel cell (DMFC and PEMFC) membranes (2000).
Education:
Ph.D. 2003. Princeton University. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.  Dissertation research: Composite polymer membranes for high temperature fuel cell operation.
MS. 1998. Stanford University. Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Water and Environmental Engineering.
BS. 1996. Stanford University. Earth Systems, Environmental Sciences and the Biosphere.
Other Interests:
Chris grew up in Newark, Delaware.  In his spare time, he enjoys backpacking, rock climbing/bouldering, playing tennis, playing guitar, cooking, home improvement projects and hanging out with his wife and kids.

TTP 289A-002 Energy Modeling for Policy Analysis

The course will familiarize students with building energy models for policy analysis. We will explore several facets of energy systems modeling including supply and demand, energy technologies, emissions, technological change and diffusion, scenario analysis, and uncertainty. We will also introduce techniques for policy analysis. The students will learn to integrate multi-disciplinary knowledge, build analytical tools, conduct alternative scenario analysis, and carry out sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. The student will be introduced to several genres of energy models and will be required to complete a number of model building exercises using Excel, other tools introduced in class, or developed by students based on his/her own skills (advanced knowledge of computer programming is not a requisite for this class). Students will become familiar with forecasting energy use and demands, gain experience of building techno!economic models, and develop skills for policy analysis. Assignments will draw on real-life policy problems at the state, federal, and international level.

Click here for this faculty member’s list of publications.

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