Joan Ogden

Dr. Joan Ogden is Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis and an Associate Energy Policy Analyst and Co-Director of the Hydrogen Pathway Program at the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis). Her primary research interest is technical and economic assessment of new energy technologies, especially in the areas of alternative fuels, fuel cells, renewable energy and energy conservation. She has written extensively on energy topics, including one book, eight book chapters, and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and conference presentations.

Over the past 15 years, Ogden has conducted a number of technical and economic assessments of hydrogen and fuel cell systems. Since 1994 she has studied alternative strategies for developing a hydrogen infrastructure for transportation applications. Ogden and her colleagues have developed an extensive set of data on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, and tools for modeling infrastructure performance and costs. Her work has been supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, private foundations, and private sector companies, particularly the automotive and oil industries.

Joan Ogden has served on a number of high-level committees and working groups convened by the U.S. Department of Energy on future energy technologies and strategies. She participated in the U.S. DOE Hydrogen Vision and Roadmap process in 2001-2002, and headed the systems integration team for the National Hydrogen Roadmap. She is now active in the H2A, a group of hydrogen analysts convened by the Department of Energy to develop a consistent framework for analyzing hydrogen systems. In 2004, she served on the Blueprint Advisory Panel for the California Hydrogen Highway Network.

Dr. Ogden received a Ph.D. in theoretical plasma physics from the University of Maryland in 1977, with a specialization in numerical simulation techniques. An interest in broader energy questions led her to Princeton University, where she was a research scientist at Princeton University’s Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Princeton Environmental Institute from 1985-2003. Her recent work centers on the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier, particularly hydrogen infrastructure strategies, and applications of fuel cell technology in transportation and stationary power production. She joined the faculty of UC Davis in September 2003.