Johanna Mathieu receives DOE C3E Award for achievements in clean energy research

Mathieu has devoted her career to reducing the environmental impact of the current power system, often in partnership with energy companies and local communities.
Johanna Mathieu

Prof. Johanna Mathieu is a 2024 recipient of the Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) Award, in the area of Technology Research & Innovation.

The C3E awards are led by the Department of Energy (DOE), and this year recognize nine women for their outstanding leadership and accomplishments in clean energy.

“DOE is honored to celebrate this year’s C3E Awardees, a remarkable group of leaders introducing groundbreaking ideas and diverse viewpoints to advance a fair and sustainable clean energy economy in America and across the world,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “These exceptional women are deepening our understanding of the clean energy transition and sparking innovative breakthroughs we need to build a thriving clean energy future that benefits every community.”  [DoE press release]

Mathieu’s research focuses on using new operational and control strategies to reduce the environmental impact, cost, and inefficiency of electric power systems. In particular, she develops new methods to actively engage distributed flexible resources such as energy storage, electric loads, and renewable energy sources in power system operation. Additionally, she has several active interdisciplinary projects leveraging engineering methods and data to advance energy justice in Detroit, where she works closely with several community-based organizations. 

She is the recipient of a 2023 R&D 100 Award for her work leveraging residential air conditioners to provide high-value grid balancing services. She also received the 2023 IEEE Power & Energy Society Wanda Reder Pioneer in Power Award, a 2019 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a 2021 UM Henry Russel Award, and the 2018 UM ECE Ernest and Bettine Kuh Distinguished Faculty Award. She was a presenter at the 2021 National Academy of Engineering US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, and is the current Director of the U-M Institute for Energy Solutions.

Mathieu holds a PhD and MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BS degree in Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining U-M in 2014, she was a postdoctoral researcher in the Power Systems Laboratory at ETH Zurich.


The winners will be honored at the 13th Annual C3E Women in Clean Energy Symposium and Awards on November 13, 2024. Register for the symposium livestream.