Lifetime Achievement for the Advancement of Education for Future Energy Leaders

Professor Sally M. Benson

Deputy Director for Energy at the White House Office of Science and Precourt Family Professor of Energy Resources Engineering in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences at Stanford University

Professor Sally M. Benson has been a leader in the development of carbon capture and storage technology for reducing emissions from power plants and industrial sources. An early pioneer in the field, she served as a coordinating lead author of the Special Report on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2005, and went on to participate in many other influential national and international efforts to establish the scientific foundations for safe and permanent storage of carbon dioxide in deep geological formations.

 

A groundwater hydrologist and reservoir engineer, Professor Benson is regarded as a leading authority on carbon capture and storage (CCS), and emerging energy technologies. She and her colleagues at the Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP) conducted a series of groundbreaking net energy analyses for calculating the energetic costs of wind turbines, solar photovoltaics, hydrogen, and grid-scale renewable energy storage. She is also a pioneer in the field of macroenergy systems, an emergent discipline for identifying optimal pathways for decarbonising the global economy.

 

In 2021, Professor Benson was appointed as the Deputy Director for Energy and Chief Strategist for the Energy Transition (OTSP) at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. The OSTP Energy Division developed national clean energy innovation strategy to ensure United States’ continued leadership in clean energy innovation and ensure the country achieves net-zero emissions by 2050.

 

Motivated by early her experience showing the power of cutting-edge science to for solving tough environmental problems, Professor Benson devoted her life-work to developing science-based solutions for making good environmental policy decisions. Prior to joining Stanford University in 2007, Professor Benson was at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for 29 years, where she held a variety of key positions, including Deputy Director of Operations and Director of the Earth Sciences Division.