Diana Ürge-Vorsatz

Employment Experience

• Director, Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Policy (3CSEP). 2007 -
• Director of the PhD program, Dept. of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University (CEU), 2002 – 2007
• Acting Head of Department, Dept. of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University (CEU), 2001 – 2002.
• Full Professor, CEU, 2007 - present
• Associate Professor,  CEU, 2001 – 2007
• Research Assistant, Energy Forecasting Group, Energy and Environment Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Fall 1994 -  1996.
• Research Assistant, Heat Islands Project , UCLA and LBNL. Winter and Spring, 1994.
• Instructor  and Lecturer, Dept. of Environmental Sciences and Policy, CEU.  Summer 1994.
• Research Assistant, International Energy Studies, Energy and Environment Division, LBNL. Fall 1993.
• Teaching Assistant, Summer Graduate Program in Environmental Science and Policy, CEU, 1993.
• Teaching Assistant, UCLA Department of Physics, Spring Quarter 1993.
• Teaching Assistant at the Department of Astronomy, Eötvös University, 1988-1990.
• Assistant for  Bechtel Corporation at the Nuclear Power Plant in Paks Hungary, Summer 1990.
• Research Assistant at the Central Research Institute of Astrophysics, Potsdam, Germany. Summer, 1989.

Honors, Awards, Fellowships

• Played a leadership role (Coordinating Lead Author) in the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change when it received the award in 2007.
• Member of theUnited Nation’s Special Expert Group on Climate Change, co-sponsored by the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society.   2004 – 2006.
• Coordinating Lead Author, Chapter on Residential and Commercial GHG Mitigation, Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• Contributed to the scooping process of the 4 th Assessment Report for   the IPCC
• International Policy Fellowship from the Center for Policy Studies, Academic Year 2003-2004.
• Journal reviewing experience: Energy Policy,   International Environmental Agreements, Buildings and Energy, and others.
• Selected as a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society for outstanding public health professionals.
• FULBRIGHT Fellowship , Academic Year 1993-94 and 1994-95.
• Nominated for the Outstanding Graduate Student Award by the faculty of the Environmental Sciences and Engineering Doctorate Program at UCLA.
• Fellowship of the Central European University for graduate studies in the USA, 1992-93;
• Pro Renovanda Cultura Hungariae Award, 1991
• EEC TEMPUS Scholarship, Academic Year 1990-91, Brunel University, UK
• EEC PECO (Pays de l'Europe Centrale et Orientale) grant for organizing a workshop for East­ern Eu­rope on East-West environmental harmonisation, 1993-94.
• The Brief Award , 1990, UK.

Membership in Governing and Advisory Bodies

• Member of theUnited Nation’s Special Expert Group on Climate Change, co-sponsored by the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society.   2004 – 2006.
• Member of the Advisory Board of the UK Energy Research Centre , 2005 – 2008.
• Member of the Steering Committee of the REEEP program (Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership), Central European region , since 2005 .
• Invited to the Steering Committee of the Energy Efficiency 21 Project of the UN ECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe), 2006
• Member of the Governing Board of the international NGO Collaborative Labelling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP), 2003 – present.
• Alternative member of the Board of Directors, European Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, ECEEE
• Three times reelected member of the Academic Senate of the CEU, 1998 - present.
• Director of the PhD program , Fall 2002 – present.
• Acting Head of Department , Academic Year 2001-2002.
• Member of the Advisory Committee for the Hungarian Energy Efficiency Cofinancing Program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Global Environment Facility   (GEF), 2000 – 2004.
• Chair of the Evaluation Board for The “Best Environmental Report Award in Central and Eastern Europe”, funded by Deloitte and Touche, 2003 and 2005.   Member of the Evaluation Board, 2004 and 2001.
• Regular evaluator of Fulbright and Humphrey Fellowship applications for the US, 1996 – 2003.
• Chair of the Academic Travel Grants Committee, CEU, 1998 – present.

Grants Obtained and Funding Raised

• European Parliament : I won a restricted tender for assessing “The impact of structural changes in the energy sector of CEE countries on the creation of a sustainable energy path”, Euro 34,980.
• EU Altener : 47,900 Euros for project “4CElectricity”, coordinated by Oxford Univ.’s ECI
• 4Celectricity projectmatched by $12,000 by the CEU Research Board, 2002.
• CEU Research Board: $10,000 for research on the impact of electricity liberalisation on sustainability in CEE, jointly acquired with the Economics Department, 2001.
• Hungarian Ministry of Environment and Water Management: 2 M HUF to study EU funding opportunities for remediation needs in Hungary
• GEF/IFC/private sponsors: $17,000 for research understanding the market barriers in Hungarian municipal lighting energy efficiency
• IFC/GEF: $2,600 for pre-appraisal research on ELI project; $1850 for appraisal research for CEU student team.   Fall 1999.
• IEA/ US DOE: $5,000 for an invited review of CEE studies in GHG mitigation. 1999.
• UNEP/GEF: $9,000 for the CEU research team on the Hungary country study.   1997-98.
• Regional Environmental Center (REC): Media and Environment (MIS project).   $9600.   1999.
• CEU Junior Faculty Research Support Scheme , $5000, for market transformation research, 1999.
• Sponsorship of GE Lighting TUNGSRAM for Hungarian lighting research, app. $30,000, 1997.
• International Energy Agency :   $4150 for CEE energy efficiency indicator data collection.   1997.
• Joint research grant with PIK (Potsdam Institut fur Klimaforschung), Potsdam, app. DM 100,000, 1996.
• Sponsorship of DHV Hungary for the “Media and Environment” conference, app. $3,000, May 1997.
• Academic Meeting Fund, CEU, for the conference “Media and Environment”.   $3,000, May 1997.
• Junior Faculty Research Support Scheme, CEU, $4,800, 1996.
• Academic Travel Grant, several awards for conference participation, 1996 and 1997.
• Grant from Prof. J. Sjoberg, Center for Risk Research, Stockholm, for risk perception work.   1996-97.
• HESP (Higher Education Support Program) grant for lecturing in Russia and Yugoslavia, 1996.
• EEC PECO (Pays de l'Europe Centrale et Orientale) grant for organizing a workshop for East­ern Eu­rope on East-West environmental harmonisation, 1993-94.
• Grant of the Austrian Academy of Science for conference presentations, Sept. 1992.
• SERC (Science and Engineering Research Council, UK) grant for measurements, 1992 and 1993

Membership in Professional Bodies

• European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
• Society for Risk Analysis
• United Nation’s Sigma Xi Special Expert Group on Climate Change
• International Solar Energy Society
• Invited member in the World Council of Hungarian Professors (Magyar Professzorok Vilagtanacsa)

Other Professional Activities and Academic Services

• Member of the Program and Paper Committees, and chair of session(s) at the following conferences (among others):
  • 4th Conference on Energy Efficiency of Domestic Appliances and Lighting, 2006
  • “Action on 1 Watt ”: the First World Conference on Standby Consumption, 2005;
  • 2nd European conference on Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), 2005;
  • “Action on 1 Watt”, first international conference on Standby Power, March 2005;
  • 3rd Conference on Energy Efficient Domestic Appliances and Lighting (EEDAL),   Sept 2003;
  • 1st European conference on Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), May 2003;
  • 2nd European Conference on Commecial Buildings, May 2002;
  • “Right Light 4” the Fourth International Conference on Energy Efficient Lighting, 1997.
• Invited expert, European COOL (Climate Options for the long term) project on the design of long-term climate-related policies for Europe. 1999-2000
• Regularly chairs PhD dissertation defenses at other departments of the CEU
• Organiser, Chair of Day 2, and Rapporteur of the Economics Discussion Group, Conference “ Rivers of Life, Rivers of Death:   Transboundary Environmental Incidents in Central and Eastern Europe” . Budapest, April 2000.
• Member of the External Grants Committee, CEU, 1997 – 1999.
• Organizer and Chair, Media and Environment Conference, CEU Budapest, May 1997.
• Invited Independent Expert, Evaluation of the annual Earmarked Grants, the Regional Environmental Center (REC), August 1996.
• Chair, Section on Environmental Attitudes and Risk Perception, "East-West Harmonisation of the Measurements of Radioactive Contamination", EEC workshop, Budapest, September 1-4. 1994.
• Peer reviewer of proposals for various international grant-giving bodies
  . Springer, the scientific publisher, for book proposals
  . Academy of Finland, Center of Excellence bids (2006)
  . UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Large Grants Scheme (2006)
• Peer reviewer , for several journals and publications, including “Energy Policy”, International Environmental Agreements”, “Energy and Buildings” and the OSI’s Local Governance Initiative.
• Member of selection committees to evaluate applications for several purposes, including scholarships to the CEU for several departments, CRC (Curriculum Resource Center) awards, ERSS (Environmental Research Support Scheme) grants, CEU student thesis research grants, others.

Further Teaching and Lecturing Experience (see also Employment Experience)

• Teaching several courses at CEU (see list in Appendix I.)
• Supervised over 80 MSc Theses; supervising 4 PhD theses, Dept. of Env. Sci, CEU.
• 10 lectures on energy and climate change policy at the School on Sustainable Development for senior environmental policy-makers, Venice International University, 2004.
• External committee member of PhD dissertations from around the world, including the Corvinus University, University of Delaware, USA.
• Invited lecturer, Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) program, Sep 1999.
• Invited lecturer, Program for Environmental Management, Cluj Technical University, 1998.
• Invited speaker, Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, 1996 April.
• Guest lecturer, UC Berkeley, several lectures,   "Environmental Policy and Regulation in Europe", 1995 and 1996.
• Invited speaker, International and Area Studies Seminar,Center for West European Studies, UC Berkeley, May 1995.
• Guest lecturer, San Francisco State University, "Environmental Problems and Their Solutions", April 1995.
• Invited speaker, World Affairs Council, April 1995.

Consulting Experience

• Hungarian Ministry of Environment :   Contributing to the Fourth National Communication of the Hungarian Republic to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) .   Preparing the chapters on Research, Development, Education, and systematic observations.   2005.
• European Commission: Consumer Information on Electricity.   Subcontractor to the Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University.   2003.
• Hungarian Ministry of Environment: The Third National Communication of Hungary to the UNFCCC (United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change).   Authored two chapters.
• IFC (International Finance Corporation) and GEF (Global Environmental Facility):   Efficient Lighting Initiative (ELI). Consultant for implementation: residential market research and program strategy design.   Autumn 2000 – Spring 2001.
• NOVEM (Dutch Agency for Energy Efficiency): “EU Policy and Sustainable Urban Development”.   Literature review; workshop introduction at the SUSTAIN convention.   Spring 2001.
• IFC and GEF:   Efficient Lighting Initiative (ELI). Hungarian manager of ELI appraisal phase: market research, IFC mission support, project preparation and design, and budget drafting.   Fall 1999.
• GEF/UNEP: “Economics of Greenhouse Gas Limitations:   Hungary Country Study”.   Research Coordination and Editor of the Final Report.   1997- 1999.
• IFC and GEF:   Efficient Lighting Initiative (ELI). Coordination of Pre-appraisal market research.
• UNEP (UN Environmental Programme) GEO-2 (Global Environmental Outlook) Project. Contributing the development of the Alternative Policy Scenarios section, conducted at   RIVM (the Netherlands’s National Institute for Health and Environment), Fall 1997.   Regular review of energy policy sections for CEE (Central and Eastern Europe).
• EU SAVE program, CFL Dissemination project, directed by DEFU, Denmark.   Fall 1997.
• IFC /GEF: Efficient Lighting Initiative.   Preparing country background document for Hungary.   Fall 1997 - Spring 1998.
• UNEP , GEO-1.   Review of Central and Eastern European section, Summer 1996.
• Bechtel Corp., Nuclear Power Plant, Paks, Hungary.   1990-91.

Additional Activities and Interests

•Founder and moderator, "HIX KÖRNYÉSZ", the electronic environmental science periodical for Hungary 1995 until 2001.
•Discussion facilitator, Fulbright Workshop on the Environment, April 14-16, 1994, San Francisco
•Organized the student symposium "Unprotected Nature", supported by REC (Regional Environ¬mental Center for Central Europe); June 1992.
•Regular contributions on environmental issues for Hungarian and European newslet¬ters, pa¬pers.
•Hobbies: orienteering, hiking, sports, reading, classical music, arts, bridge.
•Hungarian National Champion in Orienteering, 1984.