Michael Davidson

Michael Davidson holds a joint faculty appointment at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department of the Jacobs School of Engineering. His research focuses on the engineering implications and institutional conflicts inherent in deploying renewable energy at scale, an issue of particular salience and importance at the intersection of Chinese politics, environment, energy, climate change and U.S.-China cooperation.

His recent work has examined the potential for the integration of wind power in China’s coal-based electric grid, the political economy of energy technology development programs in China, and policy recommendations for reform of China’s electricity sector.

He is a senior associate (non-resident) with the Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a Public Intellectuals Program Fellow alum (2021- 2023) at the National Committee of U.S.-China Relations. He was previously a Fulbright Fellow to Tsinghua University and the U.S.-China climate policy coordinator for the environmental nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).