Labs & Initiatives

Our Partner Initiatives

At the Kleinman Center, innovation meets collaboration to help shape our future.  

Our Center is proud to partner with a network of esteemed affiliated labs and initiatives that drive forward-thinking research and groundbreaking solutions in the energy sector. These partnerships enable us to integrate cutting-edge science, technology, and policy analysis, fostering a multidisciplinary approach to addressing the complex energy challenges of our time.

Get to Know Our Initiatives

Clean Energy Conversions Lab

The Clean Energy Conversions Lab is a lab under the direction of Jennifer Wilcox, affiliated with the Kleinman Center and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The lab focuses on carbon management. Their research can be divided into three enormous problems: How can we limit the atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide? What can we do with the carbon dioxide once it’s captured? And will it scale?

Faculty Leadership:

Jennifer Wilcox

Presidential Distinguished Professor

Jen Wilcox is Presidential Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Energy Policy. Her research expertise is in carbon capture and sequestration technologies, in order to minimize the negative impacts of fossil fuels.

Energy Justice Lab

The Energy Justice Lab is a research collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University (IU), co-directed by David Konisky of IU and Sanya Carley, faculty co-director of the Kleinman Center and Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. The Lab’s mission is to explore, measure, and improve the equity and justice dimensions of society’s ongoing energy transition. 

Faculty Leadership:

Sanya Carley

Faculty Director

Sanya Carley is the faculty director of the Kleinman Center and Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.

Sustainable Agriculture Fund

The Sustainable Agriculture Fund at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, supported by a generous gift from alumnus Carl H. Goldsmith (W’88) , is dedicated to advancing research at the intersection of energy policy, sustainable agriculture, and climate policy with a focus on sustainable agriculture practices, policies, and science & technology that alleviate adverse environmental and socio-economic impacts. Managed within the Kleinman Center this initiative aims to deliver meaningful interdisciplinary outcomes and establish a foundation for long-term impact.

Staff Leadership:

Thabo Lenneiye

Managing Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Fund

Thabo Lenneiye is the Managing Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Fund. She’s responsible for operationalizing the fund, launching initiatives focused on sustainable agriculture, and framing a research agenda that intersects with energy policy.

The Center for Environmental Building & Design

The Center for Environmental Building + Design is a faculty-led research and professional services unit at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design dedicated to improving the environmental future of contemporary buildings and cities. The challenges of environmental design occur at multiple, interacting scales and can only be approached systemically, so CEBD works in interdisciplinary teams on projects at a range of scales. For more information on CEBD’s climate action planning and net-zero consulting services: CEBD Services.

Faculty Leadership:

William Braham

Professor of Architecture, Director of CEBD

William W. Braham is a professor of architecture at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. He is also the Director of the Center for Environmental Building + Design.