Visiting Scholars
About the Program
The Kleinman Center brings distinguished academics and renowned thought leaders to Penn to collaborate on research.
Visitors are nominated by Penn faculty or Penn academic departments—or are invited directly by the Kleinman Center.
The Kleinman Center provides a stipend for the visitor’s time, travel, and other expenses incurred during the weeklong visit.
Visitors participate in programming organized and designed by the nominating faculty member, the department, or the Kleinman Center, and are invited to submit a policy digest on a pre-approved topic.
Please note that the 2025–2026 Visiting Scholar Program is on pause. We anticipate reopening the program in the future and appreciate your continued interest.
Meet Past Visitors
Visiting Scholar
Joe Aldy
Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University
Joe Aldy is a professor of the practice of public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Aldy was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center in 2016-2017.
Visiting Scholar
Stefan Ambec
INRAE Research Professor, Toulouse School of Economics
Stefan Ambec is INRAE Research Professor at Toulouse School of Economics where he leads the TSE Energy and Climate Center. Ambec is a 2023-2024 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Severin Borenstein
E.T. Grether Professor, Haas School of Business
Severin Borenstein is E.T. Grether Professor of Business Administration and Public Policy at the Haas School of Business and faculty director of the Energy Institute at Haas. Borenstein is a 2023-2024 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Sara Bronin
Professor, Cornell University
Sara Bronin was a 2020-2021 visiting scholar of the Kleinman Center when she was the Thomas F. Gallivan Chair in Real Property Law at UConn Law School. She currently is a professor at Cornell University.
Visiting Scholar
Dallas Burtraw
Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
Dallas Burtraw is the Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future. Burtraw was a 2018-2019 visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Lucas Davis
Jeffrey A. Jacobs Distinguished Professor, UC Berkeley
Lucas Davis is the Jeffrey A. Jacobs Distinguished Professor in Business and Technology at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Davis is a 2021-2022 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Chandra Farley
CEO, ReSolve
Chandra Farley is the CEO of ReSolve, a consulting practice with a mission to increase the impact of climate justice initiatives by creating equity-centered delivery infrastructure. Farley is a 2021-2022 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Meredith Fowlie
Class of 1935 Endowed Chair in Energy, UC Berkeley
Meredith Fowlie is the Class of 1935 Endowed Chair in Energy at UC Berkeley. Fowlie is a 2022-2023 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Oliver Geden
Head of Research, International and Security Affairs (SWP)
Oliver Geden is head of the EU/Europe Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and a lead author of the Sixth IPCC Assessment Report. He was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy in 2018-2019.
Visiting Scholar
Christian Gollier
Director, Toulouse School of Economics
Christian Gollier is the director of the Toulouse School of Economics and the Wesley Clair Mitchell Visiting Research Professor at Columbia University. In 2015-2016 he was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Thomas Hale
Professor of Public Policy, University of Oxford
Thomas Hale is a professor in public policy at the University of Oxford Blavatnik School of Government. Hale is a 2021-2022 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Catherine Hausman
Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
Catherine Hausman is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Hausman was a 2018-2019 Kleinman Center visiting scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Mark Jacobsen
Professor, University of California San Diego
Mark Jacobsen is a professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 2015-2016, he was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Jesse Jenkins
Assistant Professor, Princeton University
Jesse Jenkins is an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University. In 2017-2018, Jenkins was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Kirsten E. H. Jenkins
Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh
Kirsten Jenkins is a senior lecturer in energy, environment, and society within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Jenkins is a 2024-2025 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Matthew Kahn
Provost Professor of Economics and Spatial Sciences, USC
Matthew Kahn is the Provost Professor of Economics and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California. In 2015-2016 he was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Daniel Kammen
Professor of Energy, University of California Berkeley
Daniel Kammen is the Class of 1935 Distinguished Professor of Energy at the University of California Berkeley. Kammen was a 2019-2020 visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Radhika Khosla
Research Director, Oxford India Centre
Radhika Khosla is the research director at the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development. In 2017-2018 she was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Alexandra Klass
James G. Degnan Professor of Law, Michigan Law
Alexandra Klass is the James G. Degnan Professor of Law at Michigan Law. Klass is a 2023-2024 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Melina Miyowapan Laboucan-Massimo
Founder, Sacred Earth Solar
Melina Laboucan-Massimo is an internationally renowned advocate for climate justice, Indigenous sovereignty, and women’s rights. She is the Founder of Sacred Earth Solar and a 2021-2022 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Nikki Luke
Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Nikki Luke is an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Luke is a 2022-2023 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Niall Mac Dowell
Professor, Imperial College London
Niall Mac Dowell is a professor of energy systems engineering at Imperial College London and Global Head of Carbon Management Technology at Barclays. Mac Dowell is a 2024-2025 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Lindiwe Majele Sibanda is professor, director and chair of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in Food Systems at the University of Pretoria. Sibanda is a visiting scholar with the Goldsmith Sustainable Agriculture Fund.
Visiting Scholar
Gilbert Metcalf
Professor of Economics, Tufts University
Gilbert Metcalf is a professor of economics at Tufts University and was a 2016-2017 visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Juan-Pablo Montero
Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Juan-Pablo Montero is a professor of economics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and 2019-2020 visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Ari Peskoe
Director, Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard University
Ari Peskoe is the director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program. In 2017-2018 Peskoe was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Tony Reames
Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
Tony Reames is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability where he directs the Urban Energy Justice Lab. Reames is a 2020-2021 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Mauricio Rodas
Former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador
Mauricio Rodas is the Former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador, and a 2019-2020 visiting scholar with the Kleinman Center, Perry World House and Penn Institute for Urban Research.
Visiting Scholar
Roberto Schaeffer
Full Professor of Energy Economics, CENERGIA
Roberto Schaeffer is a Full Professor of Energy Economics and Principal Investigator of the Centre for Energy and Environmental Economics (CENERGIA). In 2016-2017, he was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Nathalie Seddon
Professor, University of Oxford
Nathalie Seddon is a professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford and founding director of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative. Seddon is a 2020-2021 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Katherine Smith
Director, Environmental Research Institute
Katherine Smith is the director of the environmental research institute of the supervising scientist for the Australian Government. In 2016-2017, Smith was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Roger Stern
Assistant Professor, University of Tulsa
Roger Stern is an assistant professor of energy economics, policy, and commerce at the University of Tulsa, Collins College of Business. In 2016-2017 he was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Leah Stokes
Assistant Professor, University of California Santa Barbara
Leah Stokes is an assistant professor of political science at University of California Santa Barbara and 2019-2020 visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Jérôme Taillard
Assistant Professor, Babson College
Jérôme Taillard is an assistant professor of finance at Babson College. In 2016-2017, he was a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Shuchi Talati
Founder, The Alliance for Just DSG
Shuchi Talati is the founder of The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering and a 2022-2023 Kleinman Center visiting scholar. Recently, she served as a Presidential Appointee at the U.S. Department of Energy in the Biden Administration.
Visiting Scholar
Mark Templeton
Clinical Professor of Law, University of Chicago
Mark Templeton is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago. Templeton was a 2018-2019 visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.
Visiting Scholar
Gernot Wagner
Clinical Associate Professor, NYU
Gernot Wagner is a climate economist. He teaches climate economics and policy at NYU, where he is a clinical associate professor. Wagner is a 2021-2022 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Visiting Scholar
Hannah Wiseman
Professor of Law, Penn State University
Hannah Wiseman is a Professor of Law at Penn State Law and a Professor in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. She was a 2019-2020 visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center.