Joseph DeCarolis
Professor

- jfdecaro@ncsu.edu
- Fitts-Woolard Hall 3181
Note: Dr. DeCarolis is currently on leave from the University as he serves as the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration.
Dr. DeCarolis is a Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University. His research program is focused on addressing energy and environmental challenges at the intersection of engineering, economics, and public policy. His primary focus is the development and application of energy system models to analyze how energy technology and public policy can shape a sustainable future. With regard to energy modeling, he is particularly interested in the development and utilization of open source software to maximize model transparency as well as the use of high performance computing to conduct rigorous uncertainty analysis. Dr. DeCarolis is currently working on other research topics, including the economics of marine energy technologies, the integration of building energy simulation into the architectural design process, and solid waste management in a carbon constrained world. He teaches Introduction to Sustainable Infrastructure (CE250), Energy and Climate (CE478/578), Energy Modeling (CE796), and Life Cycle Assessment (CE796).
Education
Engineering and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Physics and Environmental Science and Policy
Clark University
Research Description
DeCarolis is interested in the interdisciplinary assessment of energy technology and policy aimed at affecting deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. His primary focus is on the development and application of energy system models to derive policy-relevant insight that is robust to future uncertainty.
Honors and Awards
- NSF CAREER Award, 2010
- ASEE Southeastern Section, Outstanding New Teacher Award, 2011
- ALCOA Research Achievement Award, 2016
- University Faculty Scholar, 2018
Publications
- Scenario generation and risk-averse stochastic portfolio optimization applied to offshore renewable energy technologies
- Faria, V. A. D., Queiroz, A. R., & DeCarolis, J. F. (2023), ENERGY, 270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2023.126946
- Co-Optimization of Reservoir and Power Systems (COREGS) for seasonal planning and operation
- Ford, L., Queiroz, A., DeCarolis, J., & Sankarasubramanian, A. (2022), ENERGY REPORTS, 8, 8061–8078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.06.017
- Energy-Storage Modeling: State-of-the-Art and Future Research Directions
- Sioshansi, R., Denholm, P., Arteaga, J., Awara, S., Bhattacharjee, S., Botterud, A., … Zhang, Z. (2022), IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, 37(2), 860–875. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRS.2021.3104768
- Organic solar powered greenhouse performance optimization and global economic opportunity
- Ravishankar, E., Booth, R. E., Hollingsworth, J. A., Ade, H., Sederoff, H., DeCarolis, J. F., & Brendan T. O'Connor. (2022, March 10), ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, Vol. 15. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ee03474j
- Using robust optimization to inform US deep decarbonization planning
- Patankar, N., Eshraghi, H., Queiroz, A. R., & DeCarolis, J. F. (2022), ENERGY STRATEGY REVIEWS, 42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2022.100892
- Extending energy system modelling to include extreme weather risks and application to hurricane events in Puerto Rico
- Bennett, J. A., Trevisan, C. N., DeCarolis, J. F., Ortiz-Garcia, C., Perez-Lugo, M., Etienne, B. T., & Clarens, A. F. (2021), NATURE ENERGY, 6(3), 240–249. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-00758-6
- Life cycle assessment of salinity gradient energy recovery using reverse electrodialysis
- Mueller, K. E., Thomas, J. T., Johnson, J. X., DeCarolis, J. F., & Call, D. F. (2021), JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, 25(5), 1194–1206. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13082
- North American energy system responses to natural gas price shocks
- Brown, M., Siddiqui, S., Avraam, C., Bistline, J., Decarolis, J., Eshraghi, H., … Molar-Cruz, A. (2021), ENERGY POLICY, 149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.112046
- Promoting reproducibility and increased collaboration in electric sector capacity expansion models with community benchmarking and intercomparison efforts
- Henry, C. L., Eshraghi, H., Lugovoy, O., Waite, M. B., DeCarolis, J. F., Farnham, D. J., … Caldeira, K. (2021), APPLIED ENERGY, 304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117745
- Public acceptance of renewable electricity generation and transmission network developments: Insights from Ireland
- Koecklin, M. T., Longoria, G., Fitiwi, D. Z., DeCarolis, J. F., & Curtis, J. (2021), ENERGY POLICY, 151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112185
Grants
- Refinement of the FREEDM Center Cost-Benefit Model
- NCSU Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management Systems Center (FREEDM)(9/01/16 - 8/31/17)
- INFEWS/T3: Solar-Powered Integrated Greenhouse (SPRING) Systems Using Wavelength Selective Photovoltaics for Complete Solar Utilization
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(1/01/17 - 6/30/22)
- Maximizing Energy for Waste While Minimizing Life-Cycle Environmental Burdens and Cost
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)(12/09/14 - 11/30/19)
- Solid Waste Management Planning for Wake County in Consideration of Cost, Energy and Environmental Emissions
- Wake County(7/01/14 - 12/31/17)
- Cybersees: Type II: Cyber-Enabled Water and Energy Systems Sustainability Utilizing Climate Information
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(9/01/14 - 2/28/21)
- SAVI: International Institute for Solid Waste Management Life-Cycle Modeling
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(8/15/14 - 7/31/20)
- Utilizing Municipal Solid Waste as a Biofuel Feedstock
- Biofuels Center of North Carolina(7/01/11 - 4/30/13)
- CAREER: Modeling for Insights with an Open Source Energy Economy Optimization Model
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(1/15/11 - 12/31/16)
- Modernizing Models and Data on Methane Production from Landfills
- Environmental Research & Education Foundation(8/02/10 - 7/31/13)
- Building Design Process Innovation for Enhancing Energy and Environmental Sustainability
- NCSU Strategic Research Initiative(7/01/10 - 6/30/11)