David Keith

University of Calgary
David Keith Image

Dr. Keith studies climate and energy policy, experimental atmospheric science, and quantification of uncertainty. His current research involves an analysis of the use of fossil fuels without atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide by means of carbon sequestration. This research aims to understand the economic and regulatory implications of this rapidly evolving technology. Questions range from near term technology-based cost estimation, to attempts to understand the path dependency of technical evolution; for example, how would entry of carbon management into the electric sector change prospects for hydrogen as a secondary energy carrier? In addition, he is working on a study of geoengineering that explores its historical roots and its ethical implications. As an atmospheric scientist, he studies water-vapor, cirrus clouds, and stratosphere-troposphere exchange. He was the senior scientist for INTESA, a new Fourier-transform spectrometer that flies on the NASA U-2. He worked as project scientist on Arrhenius, a proposed satellite aimed at establishing an accurate benchmark of infrared radiance observations for the purpose of detecting climate change. Dr. Keith received his Ph.D. in Experimental Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991. He received his B.Sc. in Physics from University of Toronto in 1986. He is an assistant professor of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He also has been an investigator in the Center for the Integrated Study of Human Dimensions of Global Change since its inception.