Our scientists will guide your organization to achieve its climate goals with the right carbon management program.
John Dees, PhD
Senior Decarbonization Scientist
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) + Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS)
Julio Friedmann, PhD
Chief Scientist
Direct Air Capture (DAC) + Hydrogen
Meera Atreya, PhD
Senior Science Advisor
Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) + Biofuel
John performs technical analysis and project diligence to assist clients in identifying high-quality carbon removal and sustainable fuel projects. He is also a key contributor to carbon storage durability and waste feedstock working groups.
John initially trained as a geographer, where he developed a technical background in geospatial analysis and remote sensing. His interests later shifted to energy and climate. His master's thesis investigated interest group politics in state-level renewable energy policy.
John's PhD work focused on the intersection of industrial ecology and climate economics. In his dissertation, he employed life cycle and techno-economic assessment methods to assess the potential for bio-based products and fuels to remove carbon from the atmosphere. As an extension of that work, he employs integrated assessment models to assess the value of temporary carbon storage. John brings an interdisciplinary background to bear across client engagements, from technical project reviews to policy expertise.
During his PhD, John collaborated with the Energy Systems team at Lawrence Livermore National Lab to quantify the technical and economic potential for low-carbon ethanol, sustainable aviation fuel, and carbon removal in the broader bioeconomy.
Education
PhD Energy and Resources Group
UC Berkeley
MS, Energy and Resources Group
UC Berkeley
BS, Environmental Spatial Analysis
University of North Georgia
Awards
Graduate Fellow (2015 - 2020)
NSF
Udall Scholar (2014)
Udall Foundation
He works directly with clients, the Science team, and the leadership of Carbon Direct to solve major technical challenges around carbon management and CO2 removal.
Dr. Friedmann recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist.
Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the U.S. on carbon removal (CO2 drawdown from the air and oceans), CO2 conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration.
Education
Ph.D. in Geology
University of Southern California
MS, Geology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
BS, Music
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Awards
Greenman award (Lifetime achievement in CCS)
International Energy Agency: IEA
Dr. Atreya was the lead author of Bioresources within a Net-Zero Emissions Economy, a report by the Energy Transitions Commission evaluating the role of sustainable bioresources in climate change mitigation. While at SYSTEMIQ, a sustainability-focused systems change company, Dr. Atreya provided strategic advice to a major climate-focused philanthropic foundation and co-authored a report on alleviating the plastic waste crisis; the United Nations Environment Programme intends to use this analysis as the basis for a global plastic treaty. Prior to SYSTEMIQ, Dr. Atreya was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she was designated as an Affiliate Expert in Renewable Energy & Cleantech and was a key member of the team that steered McKinsey to become carbon-neutral, globally.
Dr. Atreya is based in London and holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry (Chemical Biology) from UC Berkeley and an A.B. cum laude from Harvard. She was awarded a US National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for her doctoral research on engineering enzymes to improve the efficiency and lower the cost of converting cellulosic biomass to 2nd-generation biofuels.
Education
Ph.D. in Chemistry (Chemical Biology)
UC Berkeley
A.B. cum laude
Harvard
Awards
US National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
US National Science Foundation
