Will McNeil

Bio: Originally from West Virginia, Wilson (Will) McNeil is focusing on the sustainable and equitable energy transition at Stanford. He earned his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley under the mentorship of Dr. Corinne Scown and Professor Robert Harley. His doctoral research focused on the life-cycle health, climate, and equity impacts of heavy-duty vehicle electrification. Will was awarded a Fulbright research grant, which allowed him to conduct a yearlong research project at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand on freight decarbonization. His research sits at the intersection of energy, public policy, and public health, as it evaluates the effects of energy and transportation policy on climate and air pollution-related health effects.

Postdoctoral research project: Equitable Transition to Net-Zero: Power Plant Decommissioning, Marginal Emissions, and Fleetwide Vehicle Electrification. Air pollutant emissions from both power plants and roadways disproportionately affect historically marginalized racial-ethnic groups and disadvantaged communities. Given the disparities noted in both power plant and vehicle emissions, it remains unclear if the nationwide shift towards electric vehicles will reduce life-cycle air pollution burdens and how these burdens vary for various fleets and geographic locations. Will’s research at Stanford, under the mentorship of Dr. Inês Azevedo and Dr. Steven Davis, will compare the health, climate, and equity benefits of electrifying light-duty and heavy-duty vehicle fleets on a national scale, determining how these efforts align with equity goals. Further, Will plans to study the equitable energy transition, specifically how power plant decommissioning can be optimized to reduce air pollution disparities in historically burdened communities.

Research focus: Sustainable Transportation

Advisors:  Inês Azevedo - Energy Science & Engineering  |  Steve Davis - Earth System Science