Paths to a Clean Energy Future

Lindsay Anderson is Professor and Chair of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. Her scholarship focuses on the technical and policy challenges of deep energy system decarbonization, with a particular emphasis on electric grid reliability, climate-driven uncertainty, and multi-sector system interactions. Dr. Anderson has held key campus leadership roles, including serving as Faculty Director for Energy at Cornell Atkinson and as interim Director of the Cornell Energy Systems Institute.

Dr. Anderson also brings her expertise to state policy as a member of the New York Independent System Operator’s Environmental Advisory Committee. Her contributions have been recognized with honors such as Cornell’s Award for Research Excellence and the NSF CAREER Award. Dr. Anderson holds degrees in Environmental Engineering from the University of Guelph and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Western University in Canada.

Tobias Hanrath is the Croll Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems in the R.F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University. His scholarship focuses on the fundamental study of optoelectronic properties of nanostructured materials and electrochemical systems, with a particular emphasis on converting carbon dioxide and methane into valuable chemicals and fuels through dynamically responsive catalysts.

Dr. Hanrath holds key leadership roles in energy innovation, serving as the Director of the Cornell Energy Transition Initiative and leading Cornell Engineering’s research pillar in Engineering Energy Transitions. He spearheads the CAPTURE-Lab, a platform for testing CO₂ capture and conversion technologies, and actively translates academic research into commercial solutions.

Dr. Hanrath is a co-founder of Conamix, a company developing advanced materials for high-energy-density lithium-sulfur batteries, and Dimensional Energy, which pioneers the transformation of carbon emissions into sustainable aviation fuel.

Dr. Hanrath’s contributions to the field have been recognized with honors such as the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, and the Ben Streetman Prize for Outstanding Research in Electronics. He holds a B.S. from the University of Tulsa and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Kasparas Spokas is the Director of the Electricity Program at Clean Air Task Force (CATF), a global organization that catalyzes climate solutions and strategies based on scientific evidence, intellectual integrity, and pragmatism. In his role, Dr. Spokas leads CATF’s work in electricity sector strategy, analysis, and market, regulatory, and policy design in close collaboration with CATF’s technology and advocacy programs.

Dr. Spokas received his Ph.D. at Princeton University in Civil and Environmental Engineering, where he studied carbon capture and sequestration and energy policy. Dr. Spokas was also a Princeton Energy and Climate Scholar at the Princeton Environmental Institute, as well as a Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Fellow in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.