Granger Morgan

University Professor Carnegie Mellon University

  • Pittsburgh PA

Granger Morgan's research addresses problems in science, technology and public policy.

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Carnegie Mellon University

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Biography

Granger Morgan's research addresses problems in science, technology and public policy, with a particular focus on energy, electric power, environmental systems, climate change, the adoption of new technologies and risk analysis. Much of his work has involved the development and demonstration of methods to characterize and treat uncertainty in quantitative policy analysis. At CMU, Morgan co-directs the NSF Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making and (with Jay Apt) the university's Electricity Industry Center. Morgan is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Areas of Expertise

Quantitative Policy Analysis
Risk Analysis
Environmental Systems
Climate Change
Adoption of New Technologies

Media Appearances

Power Shift: How CMU Is Leading America’s Energy Evolution

CMU News  online

2025-07-11

From reimagining AI data centers to modernizing and securing the electric grid, CMU researchers are working on practical solutions to pressing challenges in how the U.S. produces, moves and secures energy.

“Transmission moves power from the locations where it is produced to the locations where it is needed, and the U.S. urgently needs more capacity,” said M. Granger Morgan, the Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering at CMU. “The Department of Energy predicts the country will need to more than double high-voltage transmission capacity over the next several decades.

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M. Granger Morgan: Foreign students have made American science, technology great

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  online

2025-04-27

M. Granger Morgan (College of Engineering) argues foreign students have made American science and technology great. Adding that restrictive immigration policies risk driving this talent elsewhere, threatening the U.S.'s long-held dominance in innovation and research.

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North Carolina attacks highlight the vulnerability of power grids

Houston Public Media  online

2022-12-12

Substations are soft targets, because the main components in them, huge voltage transformers, cool themselves with circulating oil. High-powered rifle rounds can easily pierce transformers, spring leaks, make them overheat and shut down. The bigger transformers are about the size of railroad boxcars. Carnegie Mellon University professor M.Granger Morgan says they aren't easy to replace.

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Spotlight

1 min

Power Shift: How CMU Is Leading America’s Energy Evolution

Carnegie Mellon University, long known for its prowess in computer science and engineering, is now emerging as a key innovator within America’s energy landscape. As AI models grow more powerful, so too does their appetite for energy, straining an aging and outdated grid and prompting urgent questions about infrastructure, security and access. From reimagining AI data centers to modernizing and securing the electric grid, CMU researchers are working on practical solutions to pressing challenges in how the U.S. produces, moves and secures energy. Learn what CMU experts have to say about their Work That Matters.

Granger MorganZico KolterDimitrios SkarlatosAudrey Kurth CroninVyas SekarLarry Pileggi

1 min

How vulnerable are US energy facilities

Earlier this month, alarm bells were ringing at the Justice Department after a Jordanian citizen was arrested for targeting and breaking into solar power facility farm in Florida. During that same time period, energy facilities in New Jersey and Idaho also came under attack. The attacks were politically motivated and have led national media outlets like USA Today to contact experts from Carnegie Mellon University to help explain the situation and break if all down. The Department of Homeland Security has issued warnings that domestic extremists have been developing "credible, specific plans" since at least 2020 and would continue to "encourage physical attacks against electrical infrastructure." Industry experts, federal officials, and others have warned in one report after another since at least 1990 that the power grid was at risk, said Granger Morgan, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University. One challenge is that there's no single entity whose responsibilities span the entire system, Morgan said. And the risks are only increasing as the grid expands to include renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, he said. August 15, 2024 USA TODAY Professor Granger's comments are startling as America's vulnerabilities to important infrastructure seem to be more exposed than ever. And if you're a journalist looking to cover this emerging topic then let us help with your questions and stories. Morgan Granger is available to speak with media simply click on his icon below to arrange an interview today.   Photo Credit: Zbynek Burival

Granger Morgan

Media

Industry Expertise

Energy
Public Policy

Accomplishments

American Physical Society Joseph A. Burton Forum Award

n/a

Society for Risk Analysis Outstanding Educator Award

n/a

Federation of American Scientists Public Service Award

n/a

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Education

Harvard College

B.A.

Physics

1963

University of California at San Diego

Ph.D.

Applied Physics and Information Sciences

1969

Cornell University

M.S.

Astronomy and Space Science

1965

Affiliations

  • National Academy of Sciences : Member
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences : Member

Articles

How vulnerable are US natural gas pipelines to electric outages?

The Electricity Journal

2023

Gas-electric interdependencies have contributed to several major electric system emergencies. Natural gas pipelines use both gas-powered and electric-powered compressor units; power outages at the latter can cause gas shortages. We make the first rigorous identification of the number of US electric compressor stations, finding that 10% are electric. California, the Midwest, the Gulf Coast, and the East have high installed electric compressor capacity. New hydraulic models, verified by past events, show that disrupting power to a single compressor station can force a loss greater than 2 GW of downstream gas generators. Such an outage can be larger than the most severe single-cause failure currently considered in electric reliability planning. Electric utilities should immediately incorporate the identified facilities into critical facility lists.

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National core competencies and dynamic capabilities in times of crisis: Adaptive regulation of new entrants in advanced technology markets

Research Policy

2023

The extent to which domestic industrial capabilities are essential in contributing to a Nations' prosperity and national well-being is the topic of long-standing debate. On the one hand, globalization and the outsourcing of production can lead to greater productivity, lower product costs, and gains from trade. On the other hand, national capabilities have long been a source of competitiveness and security during times of war and other crises. We explore the importance of domestic industrial capabilities during crises through a comparative case study of two countries - Spain and Portugal - to the sudden spike in demand for the manufacture of mechanical ventilators brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both countries had to work within the framework of EU regulations, but had very different internal competencies upon which to draw in doing so.

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Optimizing an equitable micro‐hydropower deployment: Application of a multi‐objective method for rural Indonesia

Journal of Multi‐Criteria Decision Analysis

2022

Much of the developing world is still struggling to provide electricity to rural populations. Extending the grid is frequently not feasible or too expensive in rural and remote areas. In such situations, micro‐hydropower (MHP) can be a cost‐effective source of renewable off‐grid electricity and can be easier to implement and more reliable than a number of other generation technologies. This study employs multi‐objective mixed‐integer‐linear programming (MOMILP) to identify nondominated MHP portfolios to meet rural electricity needs across Indonesia. Besides maximizing the new MHP generation capacity within a fixed budget, this study also incorporates equity as an objective. The equity issue becomes crucial to ensure that government resources are deployed in a manner that considers impacts for the entire population.

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