Alexis Abramson Named Dean of Climate School

Alexis Abramson
Columbia Climate School

Alexis Abramson, a prominent engineering scholar and sustainable-energy expert, has been appointed as the new dean of Columbia Climate School

Abramson joins Columbia after serving as dean of Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering since 2019. In that role, she spearheaded initiatives that strengthened faculty recruitment, experiential-learning opportunities, research, graduate programs, and entrepreneurship, while also fostering an inclusive campus community.

A mechanical engineer by training, Abramson has deep expertise in developing and commercializing sustainable-energy technologies to combat climate change. Before her tenure at Dartmouth, she was a professor at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, where she directed a major energy-research institute. Her own research has focused on designing and synthesizing nanomaterials for applications in renewable energy.

Abramson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Tufts University and a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. During the Obama administration, she served as chief scientist and manager of the emerging-technologies team at the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office, overseeing investments in energy-efficient building innovations.

The Climate School, launched in 2020, serves as a hub of interdisciplinary climate research and education across the University. It recently launched a new master’s degree program, the MS in climate, whose first cohort will begin classes in fall 2025.