Leadership

Alexis Abramson is the dean of the Columbia Climate School and a Professor of Climate. She is a climate thought leader and an expert in sustainable energy technology, with extensive experience in academic administration. Professor Abramson’s research has focused broadly on thermal transport, from designing nanostructured materials to addressing building energy efficiency. Before coming to her role at Columbia in January 2025, Professor Abramson served as the dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. 

Prior to her tenure at Dartmouth, she was the Milton and Tamar Maltz Professor of Energy Innovation at Case Western Reserve University and served as a director of that university’s Great Lakes Energy Institute where she focused on creating sustainable energy technology solutions. Abramson also co-founded Edifice Analytics, a start-up that conducts virtual energy audits and manages building efficiency optimization.

During the Obama administration, Abramson held the role of chief scientist and manager of the Emerging Technologies Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office. She has previously served as a technical advisor to Breakthrough Energy Ventures, established by Bill Gates to invest in startup companies with significant potential to mitigate climate change. 

Professor Abramson’s research has included novel techniques for thermal characterization of nanostructures, the design and synthesis of unique nanomaterials for use in alternative energy applications, and strategies to accelerate technology commercialization at universities and research institutions. She has also written about gender imbalances in academic settings and the importance of taking a human-centered and multidisciplinary approach to education and research, particularly in STEM and related fields. 

Professor Abramson earned her BS and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.