Erin Mayfield

Overview

Erin Mayfield's research is in the areas of sustainable systems engineering and public policy. She focuses on three interacting research themes: energy and industrial systems planning, climate change mitigation, and multi-attribute decision-making. Her research bridges quantitative and qualitative approaches to address real-world problems and facilitate multi-stakeholder decision-making processes. 

Professor Mayfield is a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 7th Assessment Report, and has led or participated in several large-scale collaborations on infrastructure transitions, including the Net-Zero America Project, the REPEAT Project, and the Fifth National Climate Assessment. During the Biden-Harris administration, Mayfield served as a strategic advisor in the Office of Policy at the US Department of Energy and the assistant director for NetZero Pathways in the White House. She has also held positions at the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Congress, Princeton University, and Environmental Law Institute.

Her research is regularly covered in national and local media such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Washington Post, Forbes, Rolling Stone, and National Public Radio. Mayfield has received several awards for her research such as Princeton University's Rob Socolow Best Paper Award, American Chemical Society Editor's Choice Award, and the Herbert L. Toor Doctoral Research Award. Prior to academia, Mayfield was a practitioner working with and in vulnerable communities on hazardous waste remediation, infrastructure planning, and environmental litigation including the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Research Interests

Industrial and energy transitions and modeling; multi-objective decision-making; climate change mitigation; national security; social equity; health and air quality; data science; environmental and energy policy

Education

• BS, Environmental Science, Rutgers University
• MS, Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
• PhD, Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Awards

• Lead Author, International Governmental Panel on Climate Change, Seventh
  Assessment Report (2025 to present)
• Author, Fifth National Climate Assessment (2021 to 2023)
• Princeton University’s Rob Socolow Carbon Mitigation Initiative Best Paper
  Award (2021)
• Paper featured on cover of Nature Sustainability (2019)
• Paper featured on cover of Environmental Science & Technology (2017)
• American Chemical Society’s Editors’ Choice Award (2017)
• Carnegie Mellon University’s Herbert L. Toor Best Doctoral Research Award
  (2016)
• Ben Franklin Technology Partner’s Shale Gas Innovation Conference
  Competition Winner (2016)
• Scott Institute for Energy Innovation Energy Week Competition Winner (2016)
• United States Association of Energy Economics Case Competition Winner (2015)
• Dr. Melvin S. Finstein Environmental Science Award (2008)
• Dr. Richard T. Dewling Award (2008)
• Dr. Thomas S. Dalton Memorial Award (2008)

Selected Publications

• Giang M, Edwards S, Fletcher R, Gardner-Frolick R, Gryba JD, Mathias C, Vernier-Cambron E, Berglund S, Carley J, Erickson E, Grubert A, Hadjimichael J, Hill J, Mayfield E, Nock D, Pikok R, Saari C, Lezcano A, Siddiqi J, Skerker J, Tessum C. (2024) "Modeling for equity in sustainability science: practical examples throughout the modeling life cycle and future opportunities." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 121(13): e2215688121
• Brinkerink M*, Mayfield E, Deane P. (2024) "The role of spatial resolution in energy systems modelling – a global case study." Energy Strategy Reviews. 53: 101370
• Davis S, Dodder RS, Turner DD, Azevedo IML, Bazilian M, Bistline J, Carley S, Clack CTM, Fargione JE, Grubert E, Hill J, Hollis AL, Jenn A, Jones RA, Masanet E, Mayfield E, Muratori M, Peng W, Sellers BC. (2023) "Mitigation." In: Fifth National Climate Assessment. Crimmins AR, Avery CW, Easterling DR, Kunkel KE, Stewart BC, Maycock TK (eds.). US Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.7930/NCA5.2023.CH32
• Min Y*, Mayfield E. (2023) "Rooftop solar, electric vehicle, and heat pump adoption in rural areas in the United States." Energy Research & Social Science. 105: 103292
• Bistline J, Blanford G, Brown M, Burtraw D, Domeshek M, Farbes J, Fawcett A, Hamilton A, Jenkins J, Jones R, King B, Kolus H, Larsen J, Levin A, Mahajan M, Marcy C, Mayfield E, McFarland J, McJeon H, Orvis R, Patankar N, Rennert K, Roney C, Roy N, Schivley G, Steinberg D, Victor N, Wenzel S, Weyant J, Wiser R, Yuan M, Zhao A. (2023) "Emissions and energy system impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act." Science. 380(6652)
• Mayfield E, Jenkins J, Larson E, Greig C. (2023) "Labor pathways to achieve net zero emissions in the United States by mid-century." Energy Policy. 177: 113516
• Jenkins J, Mayfield E, Larson E, Pacala S, Greig C. (2021) "Mission net-zero America: The nation-building path to a prosperous, net-zero emissions economy." Joule. 5(11)
• Larson E, Greig C, Jenkins J, Mayfield E, Pascale A, Zhang C, Pacala S, Socolow R, Williams R, Drossman J, Baik E, Birdsey R, Duke R, Jones R, Haley B, Leslie E, Paustian K, Swan A. (2020) "Net-Zero America: Potential pathways, infrastructure, and impacts." Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu
• Mayfield E, Cohon J, Muller N, Azevedo I, Robinson A. (2019) "Cumulative environmental and employment impacts of the shale gas boom." Nature Sustainability. 2: 1122–1131
• Mayfield E, Robinson A, Cohon J. (2017) "System-wide and superemitter policy options for the abatement of methane emissions from the U.S. natural gas system." Environmental Science & Technology. 51: 4772–4780

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