Meagan Mauter
Visiting Scholar, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group
Contact:
Telephone: 617-384-9299
Email: meagan_mauter@hks.harvard.edu
Experience
Visiting Scholar Meagan Mauter's research interests lie at the intersection of energy and water. After finishing undergraduate degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering and History at Rice University, Mauter completed a Ph.D. in Chemical and Environmental Engineering in at Yale University. Her dissertation, "Implications and Applications of Nanomaterials for Membrane-Based Water Treatment," emphasized the role of next-generation membrane materials and processes in minimizing the energy consumption of separations. Following her doctoral work, Mauter joined the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program and Environment and Natural Resources Program at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Research Fellow in their joint project, the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group. She joined Carnegie Mellon University in 2012 as an assistant professor with joint appointments in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy. Her present research continues to apply novel materials, advanced treatment processes, and innovation analysis to the pressing challenge of resource efficiency in water and energy systems.
March 2013
"The Next Frontier in United States Unconventional Shale Gas and Tight Oil Extraction: Strategic Reduction of Environmental Impact"
Discussion Paper
By Meagan Mauter, Visiting Scholar, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, Vanessa R. Palmer, Yiqiao Tang and A. Patrick Behrer
The unconventional fossil fuel extraction industry—in the U.S., primarily shale gas and tight oil—is expected to continue expanding dramatically in coming decades as conventionally recoverable reserves wane. At the global scale, a long-term domestic supply of natural gas is expected to yield environmental benefits over alternative sources of fossil energy. At the local level, however, the environmental impacts of shale gas and tight oil development may be significant. The development of technology, management practices, and regulatory policies that mitigate the associated environmental impacts of shale gas development is quickly becoming the next frontier in U.S. unconventional fossil resource extraction.
