Durham, N.C. – Richard G. Newell, an award-winning environmental economist widely cited for his work on the economics of climate change and energy, has joined the Nicholas School as the first Gendell Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics.

Newell came to the Nicholas School from Resources for the Future, an independent economic policy think-tank in Washington, D.C., where he continues to serve as a university fellow. 

His research centers on the economics of energy markets and policies, particularly on the cost and effectiveness of alternative policies and technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 

“Society faces daunting choices in balancing our energy demands with our desire for a healthy environment. Meeting these challenges involves careful consideration of markets for energy and for energy technologies,” Newell says.  “My research, teaching, and outreach efforts are motivated by a desire to inform and improve domestic and international policies to address these critical energy and environmental needs.”

“Anyone who is involved in research or policy work in energy efficiency and climate change has benefited from Richard’s work, especially his seminal papers and articles on the possible impacts of climate change and climate policy on the future economy,” says William H. Schlesinger, dean of the Nicholas School.  “We’re delighted to appoint a scholar of his caliber as the inaugural Gendell Associate Professor.”

The Gendell Associate Professorship was endowed as part of a $2.15 million gift in 2005 from Jeffrey and Martha Gendell of Greenwich, Conn., to support an expanded curriculum in energy studies at the Nicholas School. The Gendells’ gift, which totaled $2.9 million when matching funds were included, endowed two new full-time faculty positions in the school’s Energy and Environment (EE) program, along with an energy research fund, a speakers’ series, a visiting executives program and a general fund to support energy innovation.

The EE program provides graduate students with an intensive two-year course of interdisciplinary study culminating in a professional Master of Environmental Management (MEM) 91 with a concentration in energy – one of eight MEM tracks offered at the school. Future plans call for extending the EE 91 track to undergraduates.

“The Gendells and the Nicholas School, through their strategic focus on education and research on energy and the environment, have identified a key aspect of the vision necessary for our society to create a future we all want to live in,” Newell said.  “I look forward to engaging with students on these hard problems, learning from my colleagues in the natural sciences, and further strengthening Duke as an intellectual focal point on energy and environmental issues.”

In addition to his work at Resources for the Future, Newell is well known in policy circles for his role as senior economist for energy and environment on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in 2005-06.

He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on National Science Foundation Innovation Prizes, which earlier this year issued a report endorsing the use of innovation inducement prizes to achieve a wide range of energy, environmental and societal goals.

Newell also serves on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Energy R&D, the editorial board of Energy Economics, the National Petroleum Council Global Oil and Gas Study Committee,and the advisory board of the Automotive X-Prize, designed to provide an inducement to spur development of a 100-mile-per gallon vehicle. Earlier this year, he was named a co-recipient of the inaugural Petry Research Prize for the Economics of Climate Change from the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. 

Newell received his Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University. He holds a master’s 91 in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and bachelor’s 91s in philosophy and engineering from Rutgers University.