Alberta Carpenter is a member of the Resources and Sustainability Group in the Strategic Energy Analysis Center. She leads NREL’s efforts for strategic analysis for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office.

Dr. Carpenter also manages the team that developed and runs the Materials Flow through Industry tool. This tool provides supply chain impact analysis of the manufacturing sector, offering insight into energy and carbon hotspots within industrial supply chains and the impacts associated with implementing energy reductions strategies.

Areas of Expertise

Life cycle assessment in industrial by-product management, waste management, biofuels and manufacturing technologies
Life cycle inventory database management

Research Interests

Life cycle assessment
Life cycle inventory management
Biofuels
Advanced manufacturing
Supply chain analysis
Sustainable Manufacturing
Circular Economy

Education

Ph.D. in environmental engineering, University of New Hampshire
M.S. in environmental engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
B.S. in ocean engineering, U.S. Naval Academy

Prior Work Experience

U.S. Navy, 5 years
GE Medical, San Jose, CA, 1 year
Department of Public Works, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 3 years

Other Affiliations

Member of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment
Member ASTM Sustainable Manufacturing Technical Subcommittee Member
Technical Advisory Board for Sustainable Minds Transparency Report Program

Featured Publications

Implications of Air Pollutant Emissions from Producing Agricultural and Forestry Feedstocks, 2016 Billion-Ton Report, Volume 2 (2017)

Evaluating opportunities to improve material and energy impacts in commodity supply chains, Environment Systems and Decisions (2017)

Systematic Review of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Geothermal Electricityem>, NREL Technical Report (2017)

Air Pollutant Emissions Inventory of Large-Scale Production of Selected Biofuels Feedstocks in 2022, Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining (2016)

On the Path to SunShot: The Environmental and Public Health Benefits of Achieving High Solar Penetrations in the United Statesem>, NREL Technical Report (2016)

A Retrospective Analysis of the Benefits and Impacts of U.S. Renewable Portfolio Standardsem>, NREL Technical Report (2016)

Life Cycle Assessment of End-of-Life Management Options for Construction and Demolition Debris, Journal of Industrial Ecology (2013)

UNEP/SETAC Global Guidance Principles for Life Cycle Assessment Databases: A Basis for Greener Processes and Products — Shonan Guidance Principles, Chapter 4, Data Documentation, Review and Management (2011)

Use of Industrial By-Products in Urban Transportation Infrastructure: argument for increased industrial symbiosis, Journal of Industrial Ecology (2009)

Sustainable Management of Industrial Capital: LCA and Spatial Analysis in Decision Making For Beneficial Use of Industrial By-Products, Dissertation (2009)

Life Cycle Based Risk Assessment of Recycled Materials in Roadway Construction, Waste Management (2007)

View all NREL publications for Alberta Carpenter.