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Institute of Transportation Studies

Dr. Sonia Yeh

Research Engineer, ITS-Davis

(530) 754-9000
slyeh@ucdavis.edu
Ph.D., August 2001, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Dr. Sonia Yeh's primary research interest is to advance the understanding of future energy systems and their environmental and social impacts, and to seek policy solutions that improve the societal process of making decisions for our future energy systems. More specifically, she is interested in understanding how technologies, economic and social changes affect future energy demands and environmental outcomes such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air and water pollution, resource depletions, and land use change. Dr. Yeh is especially interested in understanding how government policies, especially incentive-based policies, and the process of decision making will affect the adoption of technologies and changes in the environment and societal outcomes.

Dr. Yeh is passionate about advancing research in understanding our future energy challenges and better characterize their true environmental impacts. In addressing these challenges, she intends to identify robust and durable public policy processes that will implement standards that ensure environmental protection and fair distribution of social benefits, while simultaneously stimulating innovation and investment in desirable future energy systems. Dr. Yeh intends to meet these objectives through hands on research, education and public outreach. In the past year and a half, Dr. Yeh has been involved with the actual policy design and implementation of California climate policies, specifically the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32), the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the Sustainability Plan for the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (AB118). Their work has provided direct inputs to the areas of policy design and evaluation, lifecycle analysis, sustainability standard for low-carbon fuels, biofuel land-use change policy and forestry management. These efforts have proved that the integration of research, public policy, and stakeholder interactions are extremely challenging but incredibly rewarding. However, the need for more science-based research to guide the public policy process and stakeholder communication is urgent and persistent. This leadership role in leading the science-based research for public policy and stakeholder interactions has filled in the precious gap. But much more research is needed at this important cross-point. Her work will fill in the need for research, education and public policy in helping to make better decisions for our future challenges of sustainable transportation energy needs.

Education

Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy (August 2001), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
M.S. in Environmental Health (May 1997), Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
B.S. in Environmental Science (May 1995), Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

  • Sperling, Daniel and Sonia Yeh (2009) Low Carbon Fuel Standards. Issues in Science and Technology 2009 (2), 57 - 66
  • Yeh, Sonia. 2007. An empirical analysis on the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles: The case of natural gas vehicles. Energy Policy, 35(11): 5865-5875.
  • Yeh, Sonia, and Edward S. Rubin. 2007. A centurial history of technological change and learning curves for pulverized coal-fired utility boilers. Energy, 32(10): 1996-2005.
  • Rubin, Edward S., Sonia Yeh, Matt Antes, John Davison. 2007. Use of Experience Curves to Estimate the Future Cost of Power Plants with CO2 Capture. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 1(2): 188-197.
  • Yeh, Sonia, Edward S. Rubin, David A. Hounshell, and Margaret R. Taylor. 2007. On the use of technology experience curves in integrated assessment models. International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy, forthcoming.
  • Yeh, Sonia, Daniel Loughlin, Carol Shay, and Cynthia Gage. 2006. Impacts of hydrogen economy on transportation, energy use, and air emissions: an integrated assessment," Proceedings of the IEEE, 94(10): 1838-1851.
  • Yeh, Sonia, Edward S. Rubin, Margaret R. Taylor, and David A. Hounshell. 2005. Technology innovations and the experience curve for NOx control technology. Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, 55(12):1827-1838.
  • Rubin, Edward S., Margaret R. Taylor, Sonia Yeh and David A. Hounshell. 2004. Learning curves for environmental technology and their importance for climate policy analysis. Energy 29(9-10): 1551-1559.
  • Rubin, Edward S., Sonia Yeh, Margaret R. Taylor and David A. Hounshell. 2004. Experience curves for power plant emission control technologies. International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy 2(1/2):52-69.
  • Yeh, Sonia and Mitchell J. Small. 2002. Incorporating exposure models in probabilistic assessment of the risks of premature mortality from particulate matter. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, 12:389 - 403.
  • Morel, Benoit, Sonia Yeh and Luis Cifuentes. 1999. Statistical distributions for air pollution applied to the study of the particulate problem in Santiago. Atmospheric Environment, 33:2575-2585.
  • Wei, Yu-Ling, Sonia Yeh, Chi-Jong Wu and Chung-Ju Yeh. 1996. Effect of resource recovery upon leachate properties and construction cost of sanitary landfill. Proceedings of the International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management, pp. 7.

Reports

  • Yeh, Sonia. 2007. Incorporating Technological Learning in the Coal Utility Environmental Cost (CUECost) Model: Estimating the Future Cost Trends of SO2, NOx, and Mercury Control Technologies. Prepared for the Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
  • Rubin, E.S., Antes, M.K., Yeh, S., Berkenpas, M.B., 2006. Estimating Future Trends in the Cost of CO2 Capture Technologies, Report No. 2006/6. IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG), Cheltenham, UK.
  • Rubin, Edward S.; Hounshell, David A.; Yeh, Sonia; Riahi, K.; and Schrattenholzer, L. 2003. The Effect of Government Actions on Environmental Technology Innovation: Applications to the Integrated Assessment of Carbon Sequestration Technologies. A final report submitted to Office of Biological and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of Energy, Germantown, MD. 

Experience

Assistant Research Scientist, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis (May 2007 – present)
Research Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (June 2007 – present)
Research Director, Carolina Transportation Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC (October 2005 – March 2007)

  • Promote interdisciplinary transportation research and identify collaborations within the UNC and other universities and partnership with local/state government and non-profit organizations.
  • Conduct research on energy and environmental aspect of the transportation research, especially the role of technological change, economic, and social changes on future energy demand, air emissions, and environmental outcomes.

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA (2004 – 2007)

  • The experience curves for energy technologies and lessons for future climate change mitigations technologies.

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Fellow, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RTP, NC (January 2004 – January 2007)
The effects of future technological, economic, and social changes on future air pollutant emissions

  • The potential role of hydrogen economy in the U.S and the impacts on energy security, system-wide fuel use changes, and regional air quality.
  • Issues of uncertainty associated with technological learning and innovation, and the use of endogenous technological learning in the long-term energy system models.
  • Support regulatory and policy decisions and provide technical support and information transfer for implementation of environmental regulations and strategies at the national, international, and regional levels.

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Depts. of Engineering and Public Policy and Social and Decision Sciences Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA (August 2001 – December 2003)
The effect of government actions on environmental technology innovation and implications for carbon management.

  • Experience curves (or learning curves) for major environmental control technologies, including those for sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides removal, and carbon management.
  • Patent analysis that analyzed the impacts of government regulations on the innovation of environmental control technologies across different countries. 

Dr. Yeh's Curriculum Vitae
May be found here.


STEPS Program Website

http://steps.ucdavis.edu/People/slyeh