Fact Sheet
Mission & Leadership
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) links science, innovation, and policy to transform the world’s energy system. As MIT’s energy
hub, researchers from across the Institute work with government and industry to identify tomorrow’s energy challenges, develop
cutting-edge solutions, and implement change by bringing new approaches to policy makers and new technologies to the
marketplace. Through research, education, and outreach, the Initiative’s interdisciplinary approach covers all areas of the
energy spectrum – from supply and demand to security and environmental impact.

Robert Armstrong is the director. Robert Stoner is deputy director for science and technology.

Founded in the fall of 2006 by former MIT President Susan Hockfield. Ernest Moniz served as the founding director until
becoming US Secretary of Energy in the spring of 2013.

A broad consortium of industry, foundation, and government sponsors supports the Initiative.
Research & Education

Of MITEI’s comprehensive research portfolio, more than two-thirds of the projects are in no- or low-carbon research
(includes renewable energy, energy efficiency, carbon management, and enabling tools such as biotechnology,
nanotechnology, and advanced modeling).

The largest single area of funded research is in solar energy, with more than 100 projects.

More than a quarter of the MIT faculty across all five schools and 22 of 25 departments are engaged. Nearly 300 graduate
fellows and more than 150 undergraduate research assistantships are supported by MITEI.

Through a seed fund program, MITEI has brought new researchers to the energy field and supported 118 early-stage
research projects.

The “Future of…” series assesses pathways to a low-carbon future through in-depth, multidisciplinary reports. Each study is
reviewed by an external advisory committee that includes environmental organizations, industry, NGOs, academics,
investors, and policy experts.

In 2009, MITEI established an Institute-wide energy minor, which has graduated students from all five schools at MIT and is
already one of the largest undergraduate minors. Working with donors and faculty, MITEI helped to develop and adapt 19
energy classes, as well as create an energy textbook series.

MITEI hosts the Tata Center for Technology and Design, which was established with a gift from the Indian philanthropic
organization Tata Trust – MITEI’s largest single supporter. The Center supports approximately 50 graduate students whose
thesis projects are directed at using advanced engineering knowledge to create products and systems that address the
challenges of the developing world.

MITEI is the lead collaborator in establishing the energy cluster for the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
(Skoltech), a new graduate research university in Russia founded by MIT and the Skolkovo Foundation.

MITEI has established other collaborative research and education programs with China, France, Portugal, United Arab
Emirates, Brazil and Chile.

MITEI collaborates closely with partners at the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research and the Joint
Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change on energy, environment, and climate change research.
Outreach & Campus Energy Management

Events have included: Presidential Energy Debates during the last two elections, a joint series with Stanford’s Hoover
Institute highlighting technology “Game Changers,” and a conference on the energy-water-land nexus.

Guest speakers have included: President Barack Obama, Governor Deval Patrick, former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu,
IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol, NRDC President Frances Bienecke, former Secretary of State George Shultz, former
Undersecretary of Energy and CIA Director John Deutch, architect Bill McDonough, former Undersecretary of Energy for
Science Steven Koonin, and BP’s former Chief Scientist Ellen Williams.

MITEI partners with DOE to implement the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Program (C3E) to advance women's
participation in the clean energy field, and hosts the annual Women in Clean Energy Symposium.

MITEI holds an annual symposium series that brings together a multidisciplinary group of experts from academia, industry,
government and non-governmental organizations to debate today’s most important energy challenges. The discussion is
synthesized into a report to guide decision-makers and inform MITEI’s research agenda.

MITEI extends the impacts of its research and education by developing and demonstrating sustainable energy practices on
campus. The campus saves more than $4.5 million annually through energy-efficiency measures.