Dr. A. Denny Ellerman, a leading energy economist, has been named executive director of MIT's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR), a shared activity of the Department of Economics, the Energy Laboratory and the Sloan School of Management. Dr. Ellerman will also serve as a senior lecturer in the Sloan School.
Dr. Ellerman's appointment was announced by the CEEPR's director, Professor Richard Schmalensee, the Gordon Y Billard Professor of Economics and Management, who said: "Denny Ellerman is a very able energy economist with broad and deep knowledge of the policy process. I am confident that he will contribute to the CEEPR's research program and enhance its impact on policy and that he will play a central role in our conference, outreach and development efforts."
Since its founding in 1976, the CEEPR has been the focus of research on energy markets and policies at MIT and an international forum for the examination of policy alternatives. In recent years, the CEEPR's research, which is mainly industry-supported, has been increasingly concerned with environmental policies related to energy production and use. Reflecting this change, the words "and Environmental" were added to the CEEPR's name in 1991. The CEEPR and the Center for Global Change Science have created a Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change to provide a focus for policy-relevant, interdisciplinary research on issues related to global climate.
Dr. Ellerman was educated at Princeton University, where he received the BA in public and international affairs, and Harvard University, where he obtained a PhD in political economy and government. He is recognized internationally as an expert in the economics of coal and is past president of the International Association of Energy Economists.
Dr. Ellerman has served on the staffs of the National Security Council, the Energy Research and Development Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs during the Carter administration and directed a staff of economists responsible for monitoring and interpreting world oil market developments. He was vice president for policy analysis, and then executive vice president of the National Coal Association. In this capacity, he testified before several committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives. Most recently, Dr. Ellerman has been a vice president at Charles River Associates, a firm of consulting economists.
A version of this article appeared in the April 8, 1992 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 36, Number 26).
