FREE offers research services to clients seeking creative answers to today’s energy and sustainability challenges by employing the power of collaborative research. Project-specific research teams of experts are formed to solve multi-disciplinary problems at the intersection of technology, energy, finance, policy, and the environment.
FREE Research Team – FREE Minds
Our Team is comprised of research leaders and rising talent in the field who offer sound, analytically based guidance to clients who are searching for ways to promote a better future based on energy, water and materials conservation, renewable energy use, environmental resilience, and sustainable livelihoods. We are not a private consultancy and Team members have no conflicts of interest with industries or governments active in the energy and environment field.
Work conducted by FREE’s research team includes interdisciplinary analysis of challenges faced by national governments, institutions, non-profit agencies, cities, and non-governmental organizations. Research outputs include advanced research reports, working papers, peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and strategic guidelines for the practical implementation of new ideas.
Research Leads
Dr. John Byrne
Co-founder and President
John Byrne is the Chairman and President of the Foundation for Renewable Energy & Environment (FREE). The Foundation was created in 2011 with a mission of promoting a better future based on energy, water and materials conservation, renewable energy use, environmental resilience, and sustainable livelihoods.
Dr. Job Taminiau
Research Director
Dr. Job Taminiau oversees research that advances the mission statement of FREE. He leads projects on ‘best practice’ energy efficiency policy, green technology investment, climate-sensitive economic development, and energy conservation awareness for public sector clients in and beyond the U.S.
Dr. Daniel Sanchez Carretero
Research Lead
Dr. Daniel Sanchez Carretero conducts quantitative research on energy efficiency and green technology projects at the Foundation. His research interests include energy technology and modelling, data science and energy economics. Before joining FREE, Dani worked on energy consumption modelling in buildings as well as analysis of potential energy savings through energy conservation measures with the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Delaware. His work has been published in journals like Nature Geoscience, Ecohydrology, Journal of Hazardous Materials and Chemical Engineering Journal. One of the publications that best exemplifies his work at FREE is “Risk Mitigation in Energy Efficiency Retrofit Projects Using Automated Monitoring and Verification Techniques”. Daniel holds a Physics degree and Economics minor from the University of West Georgia and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Delaware.
Our Team
Dr. William Latham
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. William Latham retired as Director of the Center for Applied Business & Economic Research and Associate Professor of Economics in the Lerner College of Business, at the University of…
Dr. Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo
Senior Research Fellow
Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo was born in Johannesburg. He obtained his primary, secondary, high school education in South Africa, his bachelor’s degree at Lincoln University…
Dr. Clark Miller
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Clark Miller is a Professor and Director of the Center for Energy & Society at Arizona State University. He leads sustainability research for the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies…
Dr. Joseph Nyangon
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Joseph Nyangon is a senior research fellow at the Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment (FREE). As an expert in power and utilities innovation and industry consultant at SAS Energy and Utilities Division, he leverages his deep knowledge and experience electricity market design and innovation, energy economics and policy, risk modernization, and regulated asset intensive industries to help utilities navigate the complex challenges associated with the energy transition and the modernization of the power grid.
Dr. Roger Raufer
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Roger Raufer is Resident Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment (ERE) at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in Nanjing, China. He joined the Center in 2014, after spending more than four decades as a consulting engineer in the…
Lawrence Agbemabiese
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Lawrence Agbemabiese is a sustainable development advocate and researcher, equipped with a PhD in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware (UD). In 2012, he joined the prestigious faculty of UD initially at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, and additionally appointed to the faculty of the Energy and Environmental Policy Program.
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Dr. Kathleen Saul
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Kathleen Saul earned a Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Policy from CEEP. She is a professor in the Graduate Program on the Environment at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA…
John Banks
Senior Research Fellow
Mr. John Banks is an Adjunct Professor and Visiting Scholar at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University where he teaches a graduate-level course on global electricity markets…
Debbie Bleviss
Senior Research Fellow
Deborah Lynn Bleviss is a Senior Research Fellow and a Project Director for Transport Sector Innovation at the Foundation. She retired as Professor in, and Administrative Director at the Johns Hopkins’s SAIS…
Dr. Bo Shen
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Bo Shen is an Energy/Environment Research Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), a U.S. Department of Energy national lab managed by the University of California, Berkeley…
Dr. Sun-Jin Yun
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Sun-Jin Yun is a Professor of Environmental Studies at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University, Korea…
Dr. Helen Bowers
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Helen Bowers was an Associate Professor of Finance in the Lerner College of Business at the University of Delaware. She chaired the Department of Finance and was Associate Dean of the College…
Dr. Jeongseok Seo
Director, East Asia Research Office
Research Fellow
Dr. Jeongseok Seo served as FREE’s liaison for the 1 GWp solar city project with Seoul Metropolitan Government. He was also the first research director for FREE’s East Asia office located in Seoul…
Dr. Yoonhee Ha
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Yoonhee Ha is a professor at the Graduate School of Energy and Environment (Green School) of Korea University, specializing in energy finance and sustainable development. She was a senior policy researcher for the Korean National Assembly…
Dr. Shih-Jung Hsu
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Shih-Jung Hsu is currently a Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Land Economics at the National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taiwan, and is the Director of the Center for the Third Sector, NCCU…
Dr. Nqobile Xaba
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Nqobile Xaba is a researcher at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) in the Knowledge Economy and Scientific Advancement faculty. Her work focuses on the energy transition in South Africa, and the broader climate change issues.
Benjamin Attia
Research Fellow
Benjamin Attia is a senior research analyst in the Energy Transition practice at Wood Mackenzie, a global consultancy providing data analytics, market research, and advisory services across the energy sector…
Chris Fang Brehm
Research Fellow
Chris Fang Brehm is a senior manager with ICF, a global advisory and digital services consultant. He currently works as a commercial and industrial portfolio lead for utility energy efficiency programs in the…
Dr. Robert Ddamulira
Research Fellow
An experienced innovator, systems-thinker, and manager, Robert Ddamulira, Ph.D., has 18 years of international professional experience working on diverse environmental sustainability issues. …
Anneliese Gegenheimer
Research Fellow
Anneliese Gegenheimer is a Senior Analyst, Transaction Services at K&M Advisors in Washington, DC. She graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. with an M.A. in Energy, Resources, and the Environment…
Dr. Taehwa Lee
Research Fellow
Dr. Taehwa Lee is an associate professor in the Department of Urban Administration, University of Seoul, Republic of Korea. Dr. Lee’s research interests are urban energy and environmental policy and urban climate…
Dr. Hana Kim
Research Fellow
Hana Kim is an assistant professor in the School of Digital Humanities & Computational Social Sciences at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology) and is also affiliated…
Dr. Manu Verghese Mathai
Research Fellow
Dr. Manu V. Mathai is Associate Professor in the School of Development at Azim Premji University. He has been a Research Fellow (Assistant Professor) at the United Nations University…
Joohee Lee
Research Fellow
Joohee Lee is Assistant Professor in the Department of Climate and Energy at Sejong University and Research Fellow at the Foundation for Renewable Energy & Environment.
Parag Nathaney
Research Fellow
Parag Nathaney is a senior market fundamentals analyst with Constellation. In this role, he develops long-term wholesale power market forecasts to support trading, regulatory, and business strategy. He also…
Karice Redhead
Research Fellow
Karice currently works at Consolidated Edison as a Senior Specialist on the Non-Pipeline Alternatives team…
Dr. Aaron Smith
Research Fellow
Dr. A. Luke Smith is a post-doctoral researcher with the Cleaner Production Promotion Unit at The Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Ireland. His primary interest is in…
Dr. Jing Xu
Research Fellow
Dr. Jing Xu received her Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Delaware. She has expertise in urban water resource management and sustainability…
Dr. Chun Zhu
Research Fellow
Dr. Chun Zhu is a Research Analyst at the Center for Sustainable Energy (California). She earned a Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Policy from CEEP, University of Delaware and a master’s degree…
Thomas Benson
Research Fellow
Thomas S. Benson is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and was previously an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow at the American Security Project in 2022…
Yeongju Lee
Research Associate, East Asia Research Office
Yeongju Lee is a research associate at FREE’s East Asia Research Office, located in Seoul, South Korea. Her research interest is to see the technological and economic readiness of energy efficiency measures …
Soojin Shin
Research Associate
Soojin Shin is completing a Ph.D. degree at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, University of Delaware. Her research focusses on energy policy and planning, renewable energy, and energy economics…
Saeed Esfandi
FREE Doctoral Fellow
Saeed Esfandi has an academic foundation in urban planning, having completed his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Tehran. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP), University of Delaware, where he is also pursuing a second Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Policy…
Disclaimer: Collaboration on briefings, papers, blogs or other activities by independent contributing authors is not an indication of employment.