Our Team

Michael Greenstone is the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago. In addition, he serves as the founding director of the University’s Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth and the director of the interdisciplinary Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. He was previously the director of the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics.

During the Obama Administration, he served as the Chief Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he proposed and then co-led the development of the United States Government’s social cost of carbon. He is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the Econometric Society, a Carnegie Fellow (aka the “Brainy Award”), and a former editor of the Journal of Political Economy. Formerly, Greenstone was the 3M Professor of Environmental Economics at MIT and directed The Hamilton Project.

Greenstone’s research, which has influenced policy in the United States and globally, is focused on the global energy challenge that requires all societies to balance the needs for inexpensive and reliable energy, protection of the public’s health from air pollution, and minimizing the damages from climate change. Recently, his research has helped lead to the United States Government quadrupling its estimate of the damages from climate change, the adoption of pollution markets in India, and the use of machine learning techniques to target environmental inspections. As a co-director of the Climate Impact Lab, he is producing empirically grounded estimates of the local and global impacts of climate change. He created the Air QualityLife Index® that converts air pollution concentrations into their impact on life expectancy and co-founded Climate Vault, a 501(c)(3) that uses markets to allow institutions and people to reduce their carbon footprint and foster innovation in carbon dioxide removal.

Greenstone received a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University and a B.A. in Economics with High Honors from Swarthmore College.

Balaji Srinivasan was previously the Deputy Provost; Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, and Strategy; and Chief International Officer at the University of Chicago. In addition, he oversaw University efforts in growing programs and presence with non-traditional students, advanced leadership development programs across various levels of University administration, and worked with the Booth School of Business to provide oversight of entrepreneurship and innovation activities at the Polsky Center.

Michael Greenstone is the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago. In addition, he serves as the founding director of the University’s Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth and the director of the interdisciplinary Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. He was previously the director of the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics.

During the Obama Administration, he served as the Chief Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he proposed and then co-led the development of the United States Government’s social cost of carbon. He is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the Econometric Society, a Carnegie Fellow (aka the “Brainy Award”), and a former editor of the Journal of Political Economy. Formerly, Greenstone was the 3M Professor of Environmental Economics at MIT and directed The Hamilton Project.

Greenstone’s research, which has influenced policy in the United States and globally, is focused on the global energy challenge that requires all societies to balance the needs for inexpensive and reliable energy, protection of the public’s health from air pollution, and minimizing the damages from climate change. Recently, his research has helped lead to the United States Government quadrupling its estimate of the damages from climate change, the adoption of pollution markets in India, and the use of machine learning techniques to target environmental inspections. As a co-director of the Climate Impact Lab, he is producing empirically grounded estimates of the local and global impacts of climate change. He created the Air QualityLife Index® that converts air pollution concentrations into their impact on life expectancy and co-founded Climate Vault, a 501(c)(3) that uses markets to allow institutions and people to reduce their carbon footprint and foster innovation in carbon dioxide removal.

Greenstone received a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University and a B.A. in Economics with High Honors from Swarthmore College.

Rohini Pande is the Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics and Director of the Economic Growth Center, Yale University. She is a co-editor of American Economic Review: Insights.

Pande’s research is largely focused on how formal and informal institutions shape power relationships and patterns of economic and political advantage in society, particularly in developing countries. She is interested the role of public policy in providing the poor and disadvantaged political and economic power, and how notions of economic justice and human rights can help justify and enable such change.

Her most recent work focuses on testing innovative ways to make the state more accountable to its citizens, such as strengthening women’s economic and political opportunities, ensuring that environmental regulations reduce harmful emissions, and providing citizens effective means to voice their demand for state services.

In 2018, Pande received the Carolyn Bell Shaw Award from the American Economic Association for promoting the success of women in the economics profession. She is the co-chair of the Political Economy and Government Group at Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a Board member of Bureau of Research on Economic Development (BREAD) and a former co-editor of The Review of Economics and Statistics. Before coming to Yale, Pande was the Rafik Harriri Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School, where she co-founded Evidence for Policy Design.

Pande received a PhD in economics from London School of Economics, a BA/MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and a BA in Economics from Delhi University.

Nicholas Ryan studies energy markets and environmental regulation in developing countries. Energy use enables high standards of living but rapid, energy-intensive growth has caused many environmental problems in turn. Nick’s research measures how energy use and pollution emissions respond to regulation and market incentives. His work includes empirical studies of the effect of power grid capacity on electricity prices, how firms make decisions about energy-efficiency and how environmental regulation can be designed to best abate pollution at low social cost.

Nick is joining Yale University as a Cowles Foundation Fellow for 2014-15 and an Associate Professor of Economics from 2015 onwards. He has been a Prize Fellow in Economics at Harvard University from 2012-2014. He received a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012 and a BA in Economics summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. He previously worked as a Research Associate in the Capital Markets group at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, DC.

Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick, Senior Fellow at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). Prior to joining the University of Warwick, he held the position of South-Asia Director at EPIC and taught at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

He received his PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University and holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi) and Stanford University, respectively. His research encompasses several aspects of energy and environment policy, including the design of environmental regulation, air-pollution reduction, climate change, energy efficiency, electricity access, and renewable energy policy. Anant works at the intersection of environmental economics and engineering, with on-going research on a variety of areas including environmental regulation, air-pollution, climate change, energy efficiency, electricity and renewable energy. His present work includes collaboration with India’s Ministry for Environment and Forests to design and evaluate a pilot emissions trading program to regulate industrial air pollution. He is also working with the Government of Bihar on electricity distribution reforms designed to reduce losses and enhance the supply of power.

Andrew Light served as Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy from 2021 to 2025.  At the Department of Energy, Light helped to accelerate and expand some three-dozen bilateral clean energy and energy security dialogues, forums, councils, and partnerships with countries from all regions of the world. He was also lead U.S. negotiator and Ministerial Sherpa for successful energy tracks of the G7, G20, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation platform, and served as Vice Chair of the Governing Board of the International Energy Agency.

Previously, Light served as Senior Adviser and India Counselor to the U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change, and as a Staff Climate Adviser in Secretary of State John Kerry’s Office of Policy Planning in the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, he was Co-Chair of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group on Combating Climate Change, Chair of the Climate Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals, and served on the senior strategy team for the UN climate negotiations that led to the creation of the Paris Agreement.

“The University of Chicago is a world leader in bringing data-driven analysis to create practical solutions to urgent policy problems, climate change, and the necessary clean energy transition, being chief among them. I’m thrilled to join the Institute team and work to design instruments that advance global cooperation on these critical issues.”

Ashirbad S. Raha, an ENERSIDER Top-50 Next-Gen Energy Leader, is a strategic communications leader with close to two decades of shaping public narratives on climate, energy, and policy across South Asia. As Regional Director of Communications at the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC India), he led brand-building and outreach that positioned EPIC India as a leading voice on energy and environmental economics across South Asia. His campaigns strengthened media and policy presence in 15+ languages across 3+ countries, grew digital engagement tenfold, and generated 3,500+ earned media stories; his films screened at COP27 and COP28.

He also supports strategic outreach for the University of Chicago’s Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth (ICSG)‘s flagship initiatives like the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) and the Emissions Market Accelerator (EMA) in the region. Previously at the International Committee of the Red Cross and The Climate Group, he used evidence, advocacy, and storytelling to influence policy and build communications capacity.

A former Times of India journalist, he curates Evidence Edit – a series that translates climate and energy research for policymakers. He has completed short executive education courses (online) through Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Columbia, and is committed to building a new generation of evidence-led communicators for just, science-based climate action.

Dhriti Agarwal is a Research Associate with the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) program at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India).

She contributes to the design and implementation of market-based solutions to address industrial pollution and climate challenges. Dhriti holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (Honours) and is a Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC) fellow.

Dr. Dheeraj Alshetty is Deputy Director at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India), where he leads work on emissions market in India and evidence-based approaches for air pollution control. He provides technical leadership on industrial emissions, air quality management, transportation emissions, and waste-sector pollution mitigation, working closely with government agencies, pollution control boards, researchers, and industry stakeholders across multiple Indian states.

Prior to joining EPIC India, he served as Advisor Air Quality Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), contributing to state and national initiatives on air quality management, environmental regulation, and emissions reduction. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering with specialization in air quality management from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and has over ten years of professional experience in environmental policy, atmospheric science, and emissions management.

Dr. Divyanshu Saini is a Research Manager for the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) program at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India). In this role, he collaborates with government agencies, academic partners, and industries to implement market-based mechanisms for reducing industrial emissions and improving air quality across states in India.

Divyanshu holds a PhD in Civil Engineering with a specialization in air quality management from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (NIT Nagpur). His academic expertise lies in the analysis and prediction of ambient air quality parameters in Indian cities, supported by master’s in Environmental Engineering and bachelor’s in Civil Engineering.

Before joining EPIC India, he worked in the Clean Air team at the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), where he worked with municipal corporations and state governments on Clean Air Action Plans, emission inventories, and airshed-level strategies. He has also contributed to projects with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, where his work on manual monitoring data and solid waste management assessments supported the decision-making.

Divyanshu has authored peer-reviewed publications, presented at international conferences, and trained stakeholders and students in data-driven approaches to air quality management. With over six years of combined research and professional experience, he continues to advance evidence-based solutions for environmental sustainability.

Gargi Pal is a Senior Research Manager at J-PAL South Asia. She has worked on the Energy & Environment portfolio of projects, including the Information Disclosure project in Maharashtra, the Emissions Trading Scheme in Gujarat and the Smart Plugs project in Haryana. In her time at J-PAL, Gargi has collaborated with the State Pollution Control Boards of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Punjab as well as the Central Pollution Control Board to work on evaluations aimed at reducing air pollution. Further, she is also involved with the Haryana Immunization Project, aimed at boosting immunization demand.
Prior to this, Gargi worked with KPMG for three years, where she delivered on multi-sectoral secondary research, informing market entry and business strategy of clients. Gargi holds a master’s degree from TERI University and a bachelor’s degree from Maitreyi College (Delhi University), both in economics.

Gaurav Saraf is a Program Manager for the Emissions Trading Scheme at the Institute of Climate and Sustainable Growth. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School.

He previously worked as a Consultant at the World Bank’s Bureaucracy Lab, an initiative jointly led by the Development Impact Group (DIME) and the Governance Global Practice (GGP), focused on promoting evidence-based policymaking and leveraging technology for public administration reform.

Prior to his master’s, Gaurav spent five years at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), where he led three large-scale randomized control trials (RCTs) in labor markets and agriculture, working closely with policymakers and stakeholders to drive data-driven development solutions.

Kaushik Deb leads the Emissions Market Accelerator and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago’s India team (EPIC India) as the Executive Director. As an applied economist with over 25 years of experience,  he has a distinguished career as a strategic advisor to governments and corporates on policy, markets, equity, access, and technology developments. Prior to joining EPIC India, he directed the India Program at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. His previous roles include serving as Program Director at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center, where he managed research on global oil, natural gas, hydrogen, and petrochemicals markets. Additionally, he has led research on low carbon fuels and climate issues in Group Economics in bp plc., the Policy Group in IDFC and at TERI. He also established sustainability-focused management leadership programs at TERI University (now TERI SAS). He holds a D.Sc. from ETH Zürich and a master’s degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics.

Kavita Vij is the Director for Programmatic Advancement at the Energy Policy Institute, University of Chicago (India). In her role, she spearheads fundraising, strategic partnerships, and leads efforts to build cross-sector collaborations that enable impact at scale across India’s energy and climate landscape. She is responsible for mainstreaming EPIC India’s work and finding representation platforms within industry associations, non-profit institutions, research organisations, academia, and the Government of India. Previously, she has worked with leading organisations such as the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), Prosus—a global consumer internet group operating across online classifieds, food delivery, payments, and fintech—and the Indian School of Business (ISB).

Certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt professional, Kavita holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Delhi University, a postgraduate in Management from Symbiosis University and a General Management Program Certification specialising in Leadership and Strategy from the Indian School of Business.

Krishnendu Jayakrishnan is a Research Associate at J-PAL South Asia, where she works on the Effluent Trading project in Gujarat, one of the world’s first market-based mechanisms for industrial water pollution regulation. At J-PAL, she oversees implementation of the evaluation, manages field teams, and contributes to research design, data analysis, and policy engagement to advance scalable solutions in environmental regulation.

Previously, she conducted research at IISER Bhopal in environmental and development economics, including the impacts of the El Niño Southern Oscillation on Indian agriculture and farmers’ welfare. She also evaluated social protection programs such as cash transfer schemes and education subsidies, with a focus on women’s socioeconomic welfare in India. She previously interned with J-PAL’s Data Capacity Accelerator Network (CAN), developing spatial econometric models to estimate the costs of urban flooding in Bengaluru.

Krishnendu holds an integrated master’s degree in economics with a minor in data science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal.

Putul Gupta is the Associate Director – Research at J-PAL South Asia where she leads the research management portfolio with a strong focus on cross vertical collaboration and strategic partnerships and provides oversight on research initiatives to ensure the integrity and quality of ongoing randomized evaluations. Putul joined J-PAL South Asia as a Research Associate in 2013 and has over seven years of experience working on complex randomized evaluations across several thematic areas such as health, education, and governance. She holds an MSc in Sociology from the University of Oxford.

Prakriti is working as a Research Manager on the Emission Trading Scheme project (ETS) that aims to design, evaluate and scale-up market-based environmental regulation for particulate matter in Gujarat. Previously, she interned with NITI Aayog on projects in public health. She holds a BA (Honors) in economics from University of Delhi and a Masters in Environmental Economics from Australian National University.

Tithee Mukhopadhyay works closely with the Executive Director and the senior leadership team to set the direction of J-PAL South Asia across several dimensions, with the goal to accelerate the organization’s growth. She also leads the J-PAL South Asia research team’s efforts to create the critical infrastructure for randomized evaluations conducted by researchers and partners in India as well as provides advisory and strategic direction for Worldwide Research and J-PAL initiatives that improve the quality and effectiveness of randomized evaluations. Tithee has worked across multiple evaluations in gender, financial inclusion, social networks, labor markets, agriculture, and health.

Prior to J-PAL, Tithee was a Women and Public Policy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. She is deeply interested in decision sciences and network economics. She holds a master’s degree in Global Development Economics from Boston University.

Shruthi manages a mixed portfolio of research, policy, and strategic projects for EPIC India. She brings in a rich experience of working closely with Members of Parliament and government stakeholders. Prior to joining EPIC, Shruthi was a Senior Policy Associate at J-PAL South Asia where she supported evidence generation, synthesis and dissemination for the Social Protection and Governance sectors. Further, she also provided strategic support to deepen J-PAL SA’s institutional partnership with the Government of Odisha. She has also worked with the Policy vertical of Swaniti Global, where she supported policy engagements with Members of Parliament. Formerly, Shruthi was also a LAMP Fellow in the 2020-2021 cohort.

Shrutikantha Kandali is EPIC India’s Senior Communications Specialist, with over a decade of experience in strategic communications across the development and social impact sectors.

At EPIC India, she leads communications across digital and social media, brand and institutional communications, media engagement, events, content and storytelling, translating research and policy into accessible narratives for diverse audiences. She has worked across education, environmental sustainability, energy, community development and women’s empowerment, using creative storytelling to build visibility, engagement and impact.

Shrutikantha is also a TEDx speaker, having spoken on the power of storytelling at IIFT New Delhi, and was a finalist at UN Women’s Project Inspire in Singapore in 2014. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Print Journalism from YMCA, New Delhi, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi.

Vikas Choudhary is an Assistant Research Manager at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India), specialising in energy and environmental economics, applied econometrics, and operations research. A physicist-turned-economist, he is a doctoral candidate in Energy Economics at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), where he also completed his M.Phil. in Development Studies with a specialisation in Energy Economics.

At EPIC India, Vikas contributes to research in environmental economics with a focus on industrial decarbonisation and market-based policy design. His work involves benchmarking global best practices, evaluating their applicability to the Indian context, and supporting the design of market mechanisms aimed at reducing industrial emissions and improving environmental outcomes across states in India.