Chen Chen, Ph.D.

About Me

I’m an Energy Market Analyst at Energy Exemplar.

I obtained my Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at Rice University</a>’s George R. Brown School of Engineering in Houston, TX, working under the mentorship of Prof. Daniel S. Cohan. My thesis is entitled Integrated Modeling of Future Energy Systems to Enhance Grid Reliability and Sustainability.

Prior to that, I obtained M.S. in Environmental Sciences from Emory University, Atlanta, GA in 2018. I also hold a B.S. with Honor in Marine Science and Chemistry, with a minor in Mathematics and Geology, from University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL.

My research are highly focusing on macro energy transition and modeling, with investigation into four pillars: 1) economic, 2) social-environmental, 3) technological, and 4) policy. My recent papers highlighted the human health impacts from natural gas flaring, the future opportunity of geothermal in energy transition, and energy reliablity analysis in Texas. I am an experienced quantitative and geospatial data scientist and self-taught developer.

Research Interests

• Electric System Modeling: macro grid capacity expansion, energy reliablity
• Energy Transition: roadmaps from fossil fuel to renewable energy, economical feasibility
• Clean Energy Sources: geothermal, hydrogen, carbon capture & storage
• Data Science: model optimization, machine learning

Experience

• [2025-present] Energy Market Analyst @ Energy Exemplar
• [2022-2022] Summer Associate @ EDP Renewables (EDPR)
• [2019-2021] Lead Data Scientist @ Center on Rural Innovation (CORI)
• [2018-2019] Marine Research Fellow @ International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)

Publications

Awards

• [Dec. 2022] Scott Morton Memorial Graduate Fellowship
• [Oct. 2022] CMAS Conference Student Poster Award
• [Feb. 2022] H.W. Reeves Endowed Scholarship
• [May. 2018] ICCT Research Fellowship
• [May. 2016] Departmental Honors in Marine and Atmospheric Science Program

Services

Membership & Activities

• [2023-present] Vice President of Rice CEVE Graduate Student Association (GSA)