Areas of Expertise:

Clean Energy, Climate Change, Energy Economics, Energy Efficiency

Robert (Bob) Brecha was born and raised in Ohio, graduating from Wright State University in 1983 with a B.S. degree in Physics. He received a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Texas in 1990. After two years of post-doctoral research in Germany, he took a faculty position in the Physics Department at the University of Dayton. Currently he is Professor of Physics and a faculty member in the Renewable and Clean Energy Program, and coordinator of the Sustainability, Energy and Environment program at UD. Since 2006 he has been a regular visiting scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), including a recent sabbatical partially sponsored by the Fulbright Commission. He has also been involved in an energy-efficiency business, solar thermal system installation and strawbale house construction in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Recent Comments by Robert Brecha

• "Not much point in replying to the top post, since it is so ideologically driven.  But here goes a modest attempt.  IPCC summary of climate models for "
  The Magical Powers of the Social Cost of Carbon
• "Thanks for this post, Dick.  I'm late to this thread, but unfortunately not many others have contributed either.  I think the moves by FirstEnergy, AE"
  Ohio Regulators’ Controversial $600 Million for FirstEnergy
• "I agree with the first comments that PACE is important, but it always seems that motivating individuals (and businesses?) to take advantage of what sh"
  Energy Efficiency and the Clean Power Plan
• "Wouldn't an energy economist always say that there is an interaction between supply and demand?  I come at this from a "peak oiler" perspective, but a"
  Will Demand for Oil Peak by 2035?
• "There are several points that can be made here.  The National Academy of Sciences has published "The Hidden Costs of Energy" report that clearly maps "
  EPA’s Clean Power Plan: Will it Work and Will it Be Upheld?
• "Bruce, I missed this thread when it was posted, but want to say that I concur with very nearly eveything you have said.  To avoid the highly uncert"
  Growing Poor Slowly: Why We Must Have Renewable Energy
• "It is probably not useful to run through the entire list of claims made in Mr. Kiefer's post, but a quick check of real data (from the EIA: http://www"
  Obama’s EPA to Cost Americans Billions of Dollars and Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs
• "I find this to be one of the most pressing issues we face, partially because the changes we need are so dramatic.  It seems that a sub-text of Prof. D"
  Metrics for Comparing Alternative Liquid Fuels
• "Jack, My take on the German situation is that there is now a struggle  to determine the exact future path of the electricity system.  The large uti"
  Is Our Understanding of Fukushima Backwards?
• "The direct questions posed here are whether the designs of the reactors at Fukushima were adequate, and how our approach to nuclear power is impacted "
  Is Our Understanding of Fukushima Backwards?