Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies

Mircea Gherghina is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Climate Solution Lab at the Watson School of International and Public Affairs. His research focuses on energy policy, environmental governance, and the diffusion of climate-related technologies. He has published in Nature Energy, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Energy Research & Social Science.

Gherghina's research examines the emergence and diffusion of climate-related technologies, along with the policies designed to support them. His dissertation focused on how technologies like carbon capture gain political support despite uncertain outcomes, and how stakeholder representation in U.S. Senate energy policy hearings has evolved over the past two decades. He has also studied the social determinants of residential solar adoption in the context of state-level incentive programs in New York and Connecticut. His recent Nature Energy publication found significant disparities in solar system performance across neighborhoods, with income and race shaping unequal outcomes. At Watson, he is investigating how community-based organizations, including small businesses, neighborhood associations, and nonprofits, respond to growing climate risks and contribute to community resilience, including shifts in energy behaviors.