Joseph DeCarolis
Associate Professor

- 919-515-0480
- jfdecaro@ncsu.edu
- Mann Hall 319D
Dr. DeCarolis is an Associate 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
- US Energy-Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Absence of Federal Climate Policy
- Eshraghi, H., Queiroz, A. R., & DeCarolis, J. F. (2018), ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 52(17), 9595–9604. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b01586
- Cost-benefit assessment challenges for a smart distribution system: A case study
- Sun, L. S., Thomas, J., Singh, S., Li, D. X., Baran, M., Lubkeman, D., … Watts, S. (2017), In 2017 ieee power & energy society general meeting.
- Evaluating the US Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization amidst early century uncertainty
- Galik, C. S., DeCarolis, J. F., & Fell, H. (2017), Climate Policy, 17(8), 1046–1056. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2017.1340257
- Evaluation of externality costs in life-cycle optimization of municipal solid waste management systems
- Martinez-Sanchez, V., Levis, J. W., Darrigaard, A., DeCarolis, J. F., Barlaz, M. A., & Astrup, T. F. (2017), Environmental Science & Technology, 51(6), 3119–3127. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b06125
- The Importance of open data and software: is energy research lagging behind?
- Pfenninger, S., DeCarolis, J., Hirth, L., Quoilin, S., & Staffell, I. (2017), Energy Policy, 101, 211–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.11.046
- The economics of electricity generation from Gulf Stream currents
- Li, B., Queiroz, A. R., DeCarolis, J. F., Bane, J., He, R. Y., Keeler, A. G., & Neary, V. S. (2017), Energy (Oxford, England), 134, 649–658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.06.048
- Characterization of municipal solid waste collection operations
- Jaunich, M. K., Levis, J. W., DeCarolis, J. F., Gaston, E. V., Barlaz, M. A., Bartelt-Hunt, S. L., … Jaikumar, R. (2016), Resources Conservation and Recycling, 114, 92–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.07.012
- Modelling to generate alternatives with an energy system optimization model
- DeCarolis, J. F., Babaee, S., Li, B., & Kanungo, S. (2016), Environmental Modelling Review & Software: With Environmental Data News, 79, 300–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.11.019
- Systematic evaluation of industrial, commercial, and institutional food waste management strategies in the United States
- Hodge, K. L., Levis, J. W., DeCarolis, J. F., & Barlaz, M. A. (2016), Environmental Science & Technology, 50(16), 8444–8452. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b00893
- An enhanced linear regression-based building energy model (LRBEM plus ) for early design
- Al Gharably, M., DeCarolis, J. F., & Ranjithan, S. R. (2016), Journal of Building Performance Simulation, 9(2), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/19401493.2015.1004108
Grants
- Collaborative Research:NSF-NSFC:Improving FEW system sustainability over the SEUS and NCP: A cross-regional synthesis considering uncertainties in climate and regional development
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(8/15/18 - 7/31/22)
- 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 - 12/31/20)
- Maximizing Energy for Waste While Minimizing Life-Cycle Environmental Burdens and Cost
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)(12/09/14 - 2/28/19)
- 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 - 2/29/20)
- SAVI: International Institute for Solid Waste Management Life-Cycle Modeling
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(8/15/14 - 7/31/19)
- 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)