Leaders for the Energy Transition

The Energy and Earth Resources program is preparing students for the next generation of energy careers

By Monica Kortsha

Not long ago, a career in energy meant one thing: a career in fossils fuels. The energy transition to lower-carbon fuels is changing that.

From solar and wind, to geothermal and hydrogen, and more, the world is running on a more diverse power supply and shows no signs of slowing down. And while oil and gas are projected to remain important players for the foreseeable future, renewables are the fastest growing energy sector and are on track to stay that way, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Jackson School of Geosciences Energy and Earth Resources (EER) master’s program is preparing students to thrive in this changing energy landscape. It’s doing it by having students build up a strong energy business background. All students take a core curriculum in geology, computational data analytics, finance, and decision analysis while at the same time developing their own field of expertise through a research thesis project.

EER Director Richard Chuchla, who is retiring this spring, said that he is constantly surprised by the range of EER research and careers. He said that it’s a testament to how much change and innovation are happening in the energy sector — and how EER students are well prepared to take it on.

“It ends up being a reaffirmation of what this degree is all about, while underscoring how uncertain the specific path is to our energy future,” he said. “It’s why we need to offer an education that creates robustness to changing opportunities.”

EER Pathways

The changing energy landscape is full of opportunities. Learn more about how EER students and alumni are making their way.

Jenny Brown (née Sauer) | M.S. ’20, EER

EER alumna Jenny Brown is helping counter the intermittency issues that come with solar and wind power by determining the best places to put grid-scale batteries. These batteries charge up when renewables generate excess power and release power back to the grid when demand is high and renewable output low. Brown is a manager of market analytics at Jupiter Power, a company that develops, constructs, and operates these batteries. Her role involves determining the commercial prospects of energy storage at different locations, which includes close collaboration with energy experts from across the company, from finance and data science to engineering and development. She said that her EER education helped expose her to a variety of energy disciplines and helped prepare her for the highly collaborative role she’s in today.

Tomás Fuentes-Afflick | M.S. ’22, EER

Tomás Fuentes-Afflick is helping the utility giant NRG Energy transition its vehicle fleet to all electric by 2030 — and then work with NRG’s partner companies to help them do the same. The job description aligns well with Fuentes-Afflick’s EER thesis research, which involved analyzing the CO₂ emissions changes that would come from converting the City of Austin’s fleet of conventional diesel buses to EV models. The research involved accounting for the emissions associated with different electricity sources, from Austin Energy’s own energy mix to electricity produced with renewables, fossil fuels and even nuclear energy. In all cases, he found that electric buses led to lower overall CO₂ emissions.

Tara Greig | EER Student

Soils are a major carbon sink for the CO₂ taken in by plants, but erosion can release the greenhouse gas back into the atmosphere. EER student Tara Greig is investigating ways to keep soil in place by looking to the past. Greig, who is earning a dual master’s from the EER program and the LBJ School of Public Affairs, is interested in analyzing how the ancient Maya civilization of Central America used soil terracing, creating horizontal plots on hillsides, to mitigate soil erosion after a long period of great soil loss. Although she is early in the research, it’s Greig’s goal to quantify how much terracing was used in a particular area and how much carbon it stored. She said that depending on the results, similar techniques could be put to use in other erosion-prone regions.

Marco Guirola | M.S. ’22, EER

Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is an important technology for fighting climate change. It keeps carbon dioxide emissions out of the atmosphere by capturing them right at the source and injecting them into the subsurface. For his EER thesis project, Marco Guirola investigated CCS in the Gulf of Mexico, with his project focusing on potential migration rates and storage costs. He is now a carbon capture and storage specialist at BP.

Hazal Kirimli | EER Student

Different sources of energy come with different environmental costs. EER student Hazal Kirimli is analyzing these costs for generating electricity in West Texas using wind, solar and natural gas. Working with Michael Young, a senior research scientist at the Jackson School’s Bureau of Economic Geology, Kirimli is considering the impacts of each energy source over its entire life cycle — from resource extraction to the disposal of worn-out parts. For her thesis research, Kirimli is conducting similar life cycle analysis for nickel, an essential battery ingredient.

Steven Wedel | EER Student

The energy transition is fueling start-ups across industries. For his thesis research, EER student Steven Wedel is investigating how ESG evaluations, which score business practices based on measures of environmental, social, and corporate governance, can be tailored to businesses working in the sustainability sector. Wedel is working directly with sustainability start-ups via UT’s Austin Technology Incubator, which helps new companies build business skills and connections. Wedel is interested in how business innovation can help mitigate climate change.