2025 CECE Faculty Research Incubator Grant: Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) and Multidimensional Inequalities in Refugee and Host Communities
We are excited to announce this year’s selected CECE Faculty Incubator proposal, titled “Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) and the Multidimensional Inequalities of Deployment in Refugee and Host Communities.”
This interdisciplinary project represents a collaboration across departments within the School of International Service (SIS) and beyond, bringing together Drs. Claire Brunel (SIS–PGE), Mike Alonzo (CAS–Environmental Science), and Abeer Al-Eryani (SIS–EDH).
The project will examine how renewable energy technologies are deployed in humanitarian settings and the inequalities that emerge in access and outcomes, focusing on Jordan as a case study. Specifically, it seeks to answer the research question: What inequalities are associated with renewable energy technologies in Jordan, and how do they manifest in refugee camp deployments?
By analyzing both national-level trends and community-level variations across refugee and host populations, the research aims to illuminate RET-related inequalities and ultimately address how they shape living conditions and energy access in vulnerable contexts. The findings will deepen understanding of energy inequality in humanitarian environments and inform more inclusive and context sensitive RE projects.
About the Faculty Research Incubator Program: In 2023, CECE began this program, which is designed to launch exciting, interdisciplinary work on the environment that is conducted by faculty teams from programs across the AU campus. Teams receive funding to buy out courses or support summer salary. By the end of the academic year, teams are expected to have built out their projects, piloted the protocols, and submitted funding proposals for external funding.
