Richard G. Newell

Newell was awarded the USAEE Adelman-Frankel Award from the US Association for Energy Economics in 2018 for contributions to the field of energy economics. His 2002 paper, "The Induced Innovation Hypothesis and Energy-Saving Technological Change," earned the 2017 Publication of Enduring Quality Award from the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. His 2003 paper, "Discounting the Distant Future: How Much Do Uncertain Rates Increase Valuations?" was awarded the 2006 Petry Prize for the Economics of Climate Change, and later informed estimation methods for the social cost of carbon.

In 2016, Newell became the president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based environmental economics think tank, Resources for the Future. He previously worked as a senior fellow at the organization from 1997 to 2006 and has served on its board of directors since 2011. His research work at the organization covers energy efficiency, oil and gas markets, and global energy outlooks.

Newell took a leave of absence from the university when he was appointed the seventh administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) after being nominated by President Barack Obama. He held the position from August 3, 2009 to July 1, 2011. In the role, he was responsible for directing responsible collection, analysis, and dissemination of unbiased energy information to promote sound policymaking by the United States government. Newell left Duke University in 2016, but remained an adjunct professor at the Nicholas School.

Newell earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1997 in public policy, specializing in environmental and resource economics. Newell holds an MPA from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, as well as a BS in materials engineering and a BA in philosophy from Rutgers University.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Newell was a senior associate at the global advisory and digital services provider ICF International, a teaching fellow at Harvard University, and a senior fellow at Resources for the Future. In 2005, Newell was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as Senior Economist for Energy and Environment on the President's Council of Economic Advisers, where he helped provide economic recommendations and analysis for the president. Newell later joined Duke University as the Gendell Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics at the Nicholas School of the Environment. There, he taught from 2007 to 2016, and in 2011 also became a professor in the university's economics department. Newell founded and directed the Duke University Energy Initiative and directed the university's Energy Data Analytics Lab.

Richard G. Newell (born 1965) is an American energy economist and climate policy expert who served as the seventh administrator of the United States Energy Information Administration from 2009 to 2011. He is currently the president and CEO of Resources for the Future, a nonprofit environmental economics research and policy institute in Washington, D.C. He has previously served as Senior Economist for Energy and Environment on the President's Council of Economic Advisers and as Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics at Duke University.