Annelise Gill-Wiehl ‘19

This profile was current as of 2019, when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community.

Annelise Gill-Wiehl '19 (PhD expected ’25) is currently an NSF Graduate Student Researcher and a PhD Candidate in the Energy & Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, co-advised by Dr. Dan Kammen and Dr. Isha Ray.

Annelise’s research investigates household energy access in low- and middle- income countries utilizing impact evaluation methods. Her dissertation work centers upon a step wedge randomized control trial investigating micro-savings’ effect on clean cooking fuel consumption in Tanzania. Beyond her dissertation work, she studies the climate and economic impacts of different clean cooking transitions (e.g., biomass pellets, LPG, electricity) and decentralized electrification solutions in East Africa (e.g., solar energy and mini grids). Gill-Wiehl analyzes the factors affecting the quantification of carbon offsets from cookstove projects on the Voluntary Carbon Market in conjunction with the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project. Finally, she evaluates her work’s implications for climate equity, focusing on women and low-income households.

In 2019, she graduated from the University of Notre Dame as her class salutatorian. While at Notre Dame, Annelise studied Environmental Engineering and International Development Studies. Through the Kellogg Institute, Gill-Wiehl conducted four summers of fieldwork in East Africa from 2016 to 2019 during which she implemented a pilot program that deployed Community Technology Workers to help families transition from firewood and charcoal to gas stoves in Shirati, Tanzania.

Profile below was current as of 2019 when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community.

Annelise Gill-Wiehl is a senior studying environmental engineering and international development studies. She has worked with the Keough School of Global Affairs’ Associate Dean for Policy and Practice, Sara Sievers, through the Kellogg International Scholars Program. They investigate how to incorporate the preferential option for the poor into policy. Gill-Wiehl’s own research investigates energy infrastructure and the barriers to technology adoption. Most recently, Gill-Wiehl and Professor Sievers have piloted a Community Technology Program in Shirati, Tanzania through a Kellogg Research Grant.

Since freshman year, Gill-Wiehl has been highly involved with the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. She has interned for the Foundation of Sustainable Development in Masaka, Uganda. Additionally, Gill-Wiehl conducted roughly 200 household energy surveys through an Experiencing the World Fellowship to investigate energy infrastructure in Shirati. Her research interests are at the intersection of engineering and policy in the East African context. She hopes to pursue a PhD to further investigate these issues. 

Thesis Title: Pilot of Community Technology Workers in Shirati, Tanzania