Alexandra "Sascha" von Meier

Professor of Environmental Studies and Planning
Ph.D. (1995) and M.A. (1990) Energy and Resources, University of California, Berkeley
B.A. (1986) Physics, University of California, Berkeley
Email: vonmeier at sonoma dot edu
Voicemail: 707.664.2430
Fax: 707.664.4202
Office: Rachel Carson 12

Research Interests:

My teaching and research is broadly concerned with systems that convert and deliver energy, from buildings to power plants and the electric grid. How can they be made to work most efficiently, and in a way that performs the best service? This includes both technical and human dimensions, from physics and engineering to policy and economics. One of the most fascinating problems to me, and a thematic thread in my research, is how humans conceptualize complex technical systems – that is, how we form a picture of them in our minds in order to understand them – and consequently judge good designs, technical modifications or policies. I’ve brought this approach to studies of photovoltaics in the electric grid, the automation of electric power distribution, the operation of nuclear power plants, and the management of plutonium. Other projects I’ve worked on specifically analyzed hydrogen energy systems, the performance of green buildings, and the implementation of solar energy in the public sector and on university campuses. I’m currently doing research for a new course titled “Society and the Atom.” In the big picture, I hope to contribute to the understanding and implementation of sensible strategies for converting our national energy supply system to the zero-carbon economy it ultimately needs to become. Away from the office, I enjoy meditation, yoga, cycling, the mountains, and especially rock climbing.

Course Offerings:

Selected Publications:

Electric Power Systems: A Conceptual Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Interscience-IEEE, 2006.

Kathryn Janda and A. von Meier, “The Role of Quantitative Data in Assessing Sustainable Architecture Theory, Practice, and Proof: Learning from ‘Buildings that Teach’,” in Sustainable ArchitectureS (Simon Guy and Steven A.  Moore, eds.). Routledge Publishers, 2004.

“The Signs of Petroleum Addiction,” Op-Ed, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Jan. 6, 2002.

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Energy Subcommittee, Hearing on “Energy Realities: Rates of Consumption, Energy Reserves, and Future Options,” May 3, 2001.  http://www.house.gov/science/energy/energyhearings.htm

“Cultural Conflict as a Challenge to Technological Innovation,” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 46, No.1, Feb. 1999.

A. von Meier, Jennifer Lynn Miller and Ann C. Keller, “The Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium: A Comparison of Three Narrative Contexts.”  The Nonproliferation Review, Winter 1998.