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Jose F. Alfaro

Associate Professor of Practice
Sustainable Systems
Climate + Energy
Food Systems
jfalfaro@umich.edu
(734) 763-8564
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About

Dr. Alfaro’s work uses engineering and complex systems tools such as Agent-Based Modeling, System Dynamics, and Network Science. In line with his position as a Professor of the Practice, Dr. Alfaro’s scholarship has an applied focus.  This has led him to work closely with communities, industry, NGO’s, and government organizations in developing his work. Dr. Alfaro is also the founder and faculty director of Sustainability Without Borders, an interdisciplinary student organization that works with communities to develop ethical partnerships for learning and enhancing sustainability.  This organization labors to provide students with a meaningful engaged experience that also increases the capacity of the communities and NGO’s it works with and increases their well-being. 

Dr. Alfaro’s scholarship revolves around three main efforts:

  1. Using Industrial Symbiosis at the small-scale to increase communities’ sustainability and well-being
  2. Deploying renewable energy for sustainable development of least industrialized countries
  3. Developing tools for policy and decision-making through computer modeling of socio-technical systems

Publications

  • R. Martinez Criollo.*, T. Malheiros, J.F. Alfaro. “Municipal Environmental Management Indicators: a Bottom-up Approach Applied to the Colombian Context.” Social Indicators Research, In Press, 2018

  • S.Graber*, T. Narayanan*, J.F. Alfaro, D. Palit, “Solar Microgrids in Rural India: Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Attributes of Electricity.” Energy for Sustainable Development, vol. 42, pp. 32-43, 2018

  • J. F. Alfaro, S. Miller, J. X. Johnson, and R. R. Riolo, “Improving rural electricity system planning: An agent-based model for stakeholder engagement and decision making,” Energy Policy, vol. 101, pp. 317–331, 2017.

  • S. P. Rimer, J. F. Alfaro, L. B. Stadler, C. G. Davis, and H. G. Winful, “Co-Curricular Programs in Liberia for Student Pipeline into Engineering and Agriculture,” Int. J. Eng. Educ., vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 1602–1612, 2014.

  • J. Alfaro and S. Miller, “Satisfying the rural residential demand in Liberia with decentralized renewable energy schemes,” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 30, pp. 903–911, Feb. 2014.

  • J. Alfaro and S. Miller, “Applying Industrial Symbiosis to Smallholder Farms: Modeling a Case Study in Liberia, West Africa,” J. Ind. Ecol., vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 145–154, Nov. 2013.

  • S. A. Miller, S. Moysey, B. Sharp, and J. F. Alfaro, “A Stochastic Approach to Model Dynamic Systems in Life Cycle Assessment,” J. Ind. Ecol., vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 352–362, 2012.

  • J. F. Alfaro and S. A. Miller, “Planning the Development of Electricity Grids in Developing Countries: An Initial Approach Using Agent Based Models,” in International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST) IEEE, 2011.

  • J. F. Alfaro, B. E. Sharp, and S. A. Miller, “Developing LCA Techniques for Emerging Systems: Game Theory, Agent Modeling as Prediction Tools,” in International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST) IEEE, 2010.

Read more publications here.

Research
  • Graham Sustainability Institute Transformation Grant: Reimagining Puerto Rico’s Energy and Food Systems Through Community Engagement and Industrial Symbiosis, $324,333, 2018-2020.  Co-PI
  • Proctor and Gamble, Circular Economy: Symbiotic Recycling of Consumer Products, $1,090,752, 2017-2020.  Co-PI
  • Proctor and Gamble MCubed Diamond Grant, Using Industrial Symbiosis Concepts to Reduce Flexible Packaging Flow to Landfill in Developing Countries.  $80,000, 2016-2017. Principal Investigator.
  • UM Center for Global and Intercultural Studies, Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates, Helping Communities Find their Voice on Cultural and Environmental Issues.  $58,000, 2016-2017. Principal Investigator.  
Education

PhD, University of Michigan

MS, Clemson University

BS, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Affiliations
  • Curriculum Innovations Working Group
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
  • International Engagement Committee
  • University Wide International Education Network
In the News
From Prototype to Business: Commercializing Promising Energy Technology
February 2, 2022

From Prototype to Business: Commercializing Promising Energy Technology

Jose Alfaro, an assistant professor of practice at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, has pioneered new ways to harness sustainable...

Turning diapers into sticky notes: Using chemical recycling to prevent millions of tons of waste
July 27, 2021

Turning diapers into sticky notes: Using chemical recycling to prevent millions of tons of waste

Every year, 3.5 million metric tons of sodden diapers end up in landfills. The superabsorbent material inside these diapers is made up of a matrix of polymers that expand...

February 8, 2021

SEAS Joins Forces with CICERO Shades of Green and Its Work on Green Bond Second Opinions

CICERO Shades of Green, a global provider of green ratings for bonds, based on renowned climate research, will expand its global network by partnering with the University...

U-M group gets $2 million NSF grant for turning diapers into devices to capture microplastics
December 17, 2020

U-M group gets $2 million NSF grant for turning diapers into devices to capture microplastics

ANN ARBOR—Most scientific discovery is incremental: Breakthroughs happen after years and years of tiny steps. But a recent University of Michigan discovery was a happy...

April 1, 2020

Energy Independence in Puerto Rico

Written by Nardy Baeza Bickel ADJUNTAS, Puerto Rico—The sun has set in Adjuntas, and the loud mating calls of the coquí frogs reverberate through the town’s narrow...

Puerto Rico Gasifier
April 27, 2020

Energy Independence in Puerto Rico

In phase II of a project that launched after Hurricane Maria, Professor José Alfaro and students partner with a local nonprofit to bring power to a small town in Puerto...

In the Media
07/28/2021
Jose F. Alfaro
Use chemical recycling to prevent millions of tonnes of waste (Fuentitech)
12/02/2020
Jose F. Alfaro
One key to adapting to climate change: Having your own energy grid (Marketplace on NPR)
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