Stephen Doig

About Stephen Doig

Stephen Doig is currently a senior member of the Rocky Mountain Institute where he leads the Energy and Resources team. In that role he guides both applied research as well as consulting work in which leading edge concepts are applied to the real world. Research is currently focused on developing the concepts for the next generation of utilities that will run with a significantly lower carbon footprint. Consulting work generally applies demand reduction concepts with whole system design to create significantly lower energy and resource requirements at attractive economics. Recently work of team includes:

• Developing models for wind energy to understand the degree of negative co-variance across regions that might allow wind to act as a more stable source of electricity.
• Extending that analysis to understand the broader role of renewables (especially Solar) in stabilizing non-traditional sources of power.
• Understanding the role of technology, building design and behavioral management in reducing HVAC loads.
• Designing a data center that will likely eliminate mechanical chillers while reducing Capex by 18%, Opex up to 80% and allowing the facility to double its revenue capacity.
• Optimizing an oil refinery energy efficiency at the block-flow diagram level: highlights include a rankine cycle engine that may be able to deliver 80-100% of electrical needs and an opportunity to drive down carbon emissions regionally through Co-Gen opportunities Stephen is also an advisor to the Air Force where he has helped them develop an integrated strategy to improve their infrastructure energy efficiency by 30% in the next ten years and drive up their use of renewable energy sources 20% by 2025.

He is also an adjunct faculty member at the Wharton School of Business where he teaches operations courses to MBAs, Executive MBAs and senior executives. He is currently developing course materials to teach these cohorts the fundamentals of end-use efficiency and whole system design.

Stephen left McKinsey& Co. in early 2006 after more than 9 years as member of the Firm. While there he concentrated in operations work and has extensive experience in Lean Manufacturing, Purchasing and Network optimization. His consulting work involved a wide range of industries including airlines, automotive, aerospace, chemicals, armed services, mining, pulp and paper, healthcare, insurance, power generation, public transport, steel, food production, consumer goods, banks, and concrete products.

Stephen has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley where he studied bacterial photosynthesis and an A.B. in chemistry from Dartmouth College. He has held fellowships at the California Institute of Technology where he designed and built solar cells, and at the Mayo Clinic where he investigated calcium modulated proteins.