Sharon J.W. Klein

Sharon J.W. Klein is an Associate Professor at the University of Maine's School of Economics within the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture. Her research and teaching focus on sustainable energy economics and policy, integrating technical, economic, environmental, and social tradeoffs in energy systems.

• Ph.D., Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
• M.S., Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
• B.S., Environmental Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary energy analysis, including engineering-economic assessment, environmental life cycle assessment, and multi-criteria decision analysis. She specializes in concentrated solar power, molten salt thermal energy storage, biofuels from woody biomass, hydropower, and community-based energy efficiency initiatives, particularly targeting underserved populations.

Sharon has received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for projects such as the Sustainable Energy Pathways Integrated National Framework for Cellulosic Drop-In Fuels and the New England Sustainability Consortium Future of Dams Project. She also holds a Hatch project through the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (ME022321).

In collaboration with colleagues and former students like Dr. Emma Fox, she developed the Dam Decision Support Toolbox and maintains a database of U.S. community-based renewable energy projects. Her teaching philosophy prioritizes active learning and service-learning, evident in courses like ECO 180 – Citizens, Energy and Sustainability and ECO 405/505 – Sustainable Energy Economics and Policy.