Members

Dr. Pankaj Lal

Center Director
lalp@montclair.edu
973-655-3137 / 973-655-3978

Dr. Lal undertakes research that explores interconnections among society, energy and the environment. A Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and NSF CAREER awardee, he conducts original and applied work in the areas of energy and environmental policies and economics, sustainable development, global climate change, valuing environmental services, economic and energy modeling, industrial ecology, participatory natural resource conservation and management, human dimensions and resource governance. He integrates activities of the Center into a broader and more meaningful technology, economics and policy framework with multiple outcomes.

Dr. Upendra Chivukula

Senior Advisor
chhivukulau@montclair.edu

Dr. Upendra Chivukula serves as senior advisor at CESAC and is a New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Commissioner Emeritus. He was nominated to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in 2014, where he served as a commissioner for 8 years.

Dr. Chivukula served in the General Assembly for 12 years and was Deputy Speaker from 2007 to 2014. He served as chair of the Telecommunications and Utilities Committee and as Vice Chair of Homeland Security and State Preparedness, Commerce and Economic Development, and Environment and Solid Waste. 

Dr. Yang Deng

Professor
Earth & Environmental Studies
dengy@montclair.edu
973-655-6678

Yang Deng, PhD, PE, BCEE, is Professor of Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on environmental systems and processes with an emphasis on sustainability and resilience. He has strong research interests in advanced treatment technologies and innovative engineering strategies to address water and other environmental challenges. He has authored and co-authored over 180 peer-reviewed articles on water treatment and reuse, emerging contaminants, stormwater management, and climate adaptation, with citation exceeding 18,000 times. Dr. Deng has received several awards, including 2024 Educator of the Year from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – New Jersey, 2023 Camp Applied Research Award from the Water Environment Federation (WEF), 2022 Project Innovation Award from the International Water Association (IWA), 2019 Superior Achievement Award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES), amongst many others.

Dr. Eric Forgoston

Associate Director
School of Computing
forgostone@montclair.edu
973-655-7242

Dr. Forgoston is a professor of applied mathematics at Montclair State University. His research lies in the development of novel mathematical methods for deterministic and stochastic dynamical systems to model and study complex physical and biological phenomena. Recent efforts include the study of material transport in the ocean and other stochastic environments, the use of autonomous vehicles to track Lagrangian coherent structures, the outbreak and extinction of infectious diseases, the behavior of biological and robotic swarms, food web dynamics in ecological systems, the stability of fluid flows, and the use of machine learning to improve understanding of a variety of problems in the environmental and energy sectors.

Dr. Manveer Mann

Associate Director
Feliciano School of Business
mannm@montclair.edu
973-655-7013

Dr. Mann is an associate professor of marketing at Montclair State University. She is an ESG professional with over 10 year’s experience in building and managing research projects focused on the intersection of ESG (Environmental Social Governance), sustainability marketing initiatives, retail strategies, and consumer behavior. She is experienced in providing advisory consultation on ESG and sustainability to corporate clients in a range of areas including sustainability strategic planning, GHG emissions measurement and accounting across corporate value chain, and net zero strategies. Her research has appeared in several academic journals including Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, and the International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management. Dr. Mann has presented her research in numerous international and national conferences including Society of Consumer Psychology, Transformative Consumer Research, Academy of Marketing Science, and American Collegiate Retailing Association.

Dr. Ram Sewak Dubey

Professor, Economics
dubeyr@montclair.edu
973-655-7778

Dr. Ram Sewak Dubey is Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics, Finance & Real Estate at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University. His research spans microeconomic theory, social choice, welfare economics, and growth theory, with a particular focus on intergenerational equity. As Associate Director for Economic Modeling and Analytics, he works on sophisticated forecasting, data analysis, and predictive modeling efforts to support strategic decision-making, and help develop to evaluate complex market trends, macroeconomic drivers, and competitive landscapes. His work explores equitable social welfare functions, Ramsey equilibrium, and the representation of social welfare over infinite utility streams, while also extending to applied topics such as the racial wage gap, income inequality, and online price dispersion. An award-winning educator, he received Cornell University's Anindya (Bappu) Majumder Memorial Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2009.

Dr. Amrita Sarkar

Associate Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistrry
sarkara@montclair.edu
973-655-3123

Dr. Amrita Sarkar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Montclair State University, where she leads research on polymer and materials science for sustainable energy and environmental applications. Dr. Sarkar's research explores bio-inspired polymer synthesis, self-assembly, porous nanostructured materials, green solvent development for lithium-ion batteries, and chemical recycling of battery materials. She has secured competitive funding from the NSF and the American Chemical Society and collaborates with researchers across leading institutions to advance clean energy technologies and sustainable materials. As Associate Director Material Science and Instrumentation she works on wet lab and instrumentation aspects of the Center’s projects and initiatives. This includes developing materials science, polymer, chemistry, and energy- and sustainability-related instrumentation efforts and projects; evaluating competitive intelligence and market positioning; and collaborating with industry and other partners to grow revenue and educational programs.