- Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2008
- M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2004
- B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, 2002
- Energy Systems
- Climate Change Mitigation
- Energy and Development
- Research and Empirical Methods
- Environmental and Energy Policy
- Information and Technology Policy
Varun Rai is a professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, where he directs the Energy Systems Transformation Research Group, and in the Mechanical Engineering department. His interdisciplinary research at the interface of energy systems, behavioral sciences, complex systems and public policy focuses on enabling a broad diffusion of sustainable energy technologies globally. Dr. Rai has published numerous journal articles, including in Applied Energy, Energy Policy, Energy Research & Social Science, Environmental Research Letters, Global Environmental Change, Nature Climate Change and PLOS ONE.
His research has been presented at several important forums, including the United States Senate Briefings, Global Economic Symposium and Climate One at Commonwealth Club, and has been discussed in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Bloomberg News, among other venues. He serves on the editorial boards of The Electricity Journal and Energy Research & Social Science, for which he is also an associate editor. Dr. Rai was a Global Economic Fellow in 2009 and, during 2013–15, he was a commissioner for the vertically integrated electric utility Austin Energy (~$1.4 billion revenue in 2015). In 2016 the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) awarded him the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize, which "was established to honor persons who, at under the age of 40, have made a distinguished contribution to the field of public policy analysis and management." Dr. Rai is the director of the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.
- Retail Competition, Advanced Metering Investments, and Product Differentiation: Evidence from Texas
- Diffusion of environmentally-friendly energy technologies: Buy vs. lease differences in residential PV markets
- Effective information channels for reducing costs of environmentally-friendly technologies: Evidence from residential PV markets
- Expert elicitation methods for studying technological change under uncertainty
- Solar valuation and the modern utility's expansion into distributed generation
- Fall 2022 - 60680 - PA 680PA - Policy Research Project
- Fall 2022 - 61080 - PA 397C - Advanced Empirical Methods for Policy Analysis
- Spring 2019 - 60400 - PA 397C - Advanced Empirical Methods for Policy Analysis
- Fall 2018 - 61025 - PA 095 - Public Affairs Colloquium
- Spring 2018 - 61005 - PA 397C – Advanced Empirical Methods for Policy Analysis
- Spring 2018 - 60975 - PA 095 – Public Affairs Colloquium
- Spring 2018 - 60630 - PA 682GB - Policy Research Project on Global Policy Issues
- Fall 2017 - 60755 - PA 682GA – Policy Research Project on Global Policy Issues
- Fall 2017 - 61055 - PA 095 - Public Affairs Colloquium
- Spring 2017 - 61605 - PA095 - Public Affairs Colloquium (Ph.D.)
- Spring 2017 - 61590 - PA393L - Advanced Policy Economics
- Spring 2017 - 61645 - PA397C - Advanced Empirical Methods for Policy Analysis
- Spring 2016 - 60095 - PA159S - Public Policy Issues
- Spring 2016 - 60430 - PA188S - Advanced Topics in Public Policy
- Spring 2016 - 60560 - PA397C - Advanced Empirical Methods for Policy Analysis
- Fall 2015 - 59735 - PA159S - Public Policy Issues
- Fall 2015 - 60035 - PA188S - Advanced Topics in Public Policy
- Fall 2015 - 60130 - PA393L - Advanced Policy Economics
- Spring 2015 - 61362 - PA393L - Advanced Policy Economics
- Spring 2015 - 60937 - PA158S - Public Policy Issues
- Spring 2015 - 61285 - PA188S - Advanced Topics in Public Policy
- Fall 2014 - 62710 - PA188S - Advanced Topics in Public Policy
- Fall 2014 - 62811 - PA393L - Advanced Policy Economics
- Spring 2014 - 63655 - PA188S - Advanced Topics in Public Policy
- Fall 2013 - 63720 - PA188S - Advanced Topics in Public Policy
- Spring 2013 - 62650 - PA682GB - Policy Research Project on Global Policy Issues
- Spring 2013 - 62945 - PA188S - Advanced Topics in Public Policy
- Spring 2013 - 63035 - PA393L - Advanced Policy Economics
- Energy Policy
- Energy Water Nexus
- Technological Change
- Environmental Policy
- Climate Change
- Energy
- Environment