David Newbery (EPRG founding Director) is retiring but will continue his support of the group in his new role as Emeritus Director. Existing EPRG Assistant Directors Michael Pollitt and David Reiner will become Co-Directors.
We are also very pleased to announce the appointment of 3 new Assistant Directors: Ramit Debnath, Ewa Marek and Kamiar Mohaddes. We are excited about this expansion of our leadership team which strengthens our links across Cambridge and deepens our capabilities in AI, clean fuels and macroeconomics.
A tribute to founding Director David Newbery
Commenting on David Newbery’s retirement as Director, Michael Pollitt said:
David Newbery has been a role model for insightful research and inspiring leadership over many decades. We are all so grateful for David's efforts in establishing and growing EPRG into the globally significant research group it is today. We look forward to continuing to work with David in his new role at EPRG.
On the appointment of 3 Assistant Directors, David Reiner said:
“As part of renewing the leadership of EPRG, we thought it was important to reach out to colleagues from across the University and introduce a new group of assistant directors whose talents and expertise would allow EPRG to continue to grow and flourish. With backgrounds in AI, clean fuels and macroeconomics, they will allow us to continue to tackle some of the most important energy policy challenges going forward.”
Meet the 3 new Assistant Directors
Ramit Debnath
Dr Ramit Debnath works at the intersection of AI, climate, and social systems. He is the Executive Director of the Centre for Human-Inspired AI (CHIA), and leads the Cambridge Collective Intelligence and Design Group, and the climaTRACES Lab, His research focuses on responsible, human-centred AI systems for climate action and environmental sustainability at scale.
Ewa Marek
Dr Ewa Marek leads the Energy Carriers and Reactions group based in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, working on sustainable and renewable ways to generate heat, power and chemicals. She is a Lead Author for the upcoming IPCC report, looking at CO2 utilisation pathways. Her research investigates integration of chemical industry in net zero pathways.
Kamiar Mohaddes
Dr Kamiar Mohaddes is an expert in the macroeconomics of climate change and sustainability. He is Director of the climaTRACES Lab and the Global Executive MBA programme. His research spans energy economics, innovation and entrepreneurship, and the economics of the Middle East, and has been widely cited by policymakers. In 2025 he received the Financial Times Award for Academic Research with Impact.
Featured faculty
David Reiner
Professor of Technology Policy
Michael Pollitt
Professor of Business Economics
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