At SAIS, I teach classes on energy and environmental policy. In teaching, my primary goal is to help the global leaders of the future to accumulate the knowledge and build the analytical skills needed to solve the world’s greatest problems.

Energy Poverty

To this day, more than a billion people do not have electricity at home and almost three billion people rely on traditional biomass for their cooking. This course investigates this problem of energy poverty and how policymakers can overcome it. The course covers all regions of the world but focuses on South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty is concentrated. In the lectures, students learn about the socio-economic causes of energy poverty, the impact of the problem, and the political economy of energy access policy. All students conduct an original research project to identify, analyze, and solve an energy access problem in a country of their choosing.

Quantitative Methods in Energy and Environmental Policy

This class introduces the fundamentals of applying quantitative methods in energy and environmental policy. It is ideal for any students interested in a career in energy or environmental research or analysis. The class emphasizes both mathematical and statistical tools. The students will gain substantial exposure to statistical analysis using the R statistical package, a flexible and powerful tool for data analysis.

Energy and Environment in South Asia

This course presents a comprehensive overview of energy and environmental policy in South Asia. The course covers a wide range of environmental and energy problems, broadly defined, from population growth and energy poverty to groundwater depletion and urban air pollution. The course looks at the social, economic, and political drivers of energy and environmental problems. It examines contemporary policies and the institutions that have produced them, the role of the South Asian region in international energy markets, and global environmental politics. All students conduct original research to develop innovative, practical solutions to the region’s pressing problems.