Scholars
Aparajita Datta
University of Houston
Based in
United States
North America
Aparajita Datta is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston. Her dissertation evaluates the policy feedback effects of means-tested home energy assistance programs. She studies the burdens and disparities in program participation, and the resultant impacts on racial equity, energy affordability and justice, and climate policymaking. Aparajita also serves as a research scholar at UH Energy, the energy initiative across the University of Houston System. In this role, she focuses on federal and state policies for net-zero decarbonization and climate resilience, public opinion on carbon management and sustainability, workforce development for the energy transition, and teaching courses on sustainable energy development and the hydrogen economy. Aparajita holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, India; and master’s degrees in energy management, public policy, and political science from the University of Houston.
Country(ies) of Specialty
United StatesFocus areas of expertise
Climate policy and politics Net Zero Climate Justice Public opinionPublications
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Datta, Aparajita and Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Analysis of Direct Air Capture Integrated with Wind Energy and Enhanced Oil Recovery. Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 57, no. 5, 2023, p. 2084–2092.
Datta, Aparajita, and Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Understanding the Greenhouse Gas Impact of Deforestation Fires in Indonesia and Brazil in 2019 and 2020. Frontiers in Climate, vol. 4-2022, 2022.
Mallette, Adam, Datta, Aparajita, and Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Consolidated Nuclear Waste Storage in Andrews, Texas: An Integrated Technical and Policy Risk Analysis. Energy and Environment, vol. 34, no. 1, 2021.
Datta, Aparajita, De Leon, Rafael, and Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Advancing Carbon Management through the Global Commoditization of CO2 – The case for Dual-use LNG-CO2 Shipping. Carbon Management, vol. 11, no. 6, p. 611-630.
Datta, Aparajita, and Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Opportunities for a Low Carbon Transition-Deploying Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage in Northeast India. Frontiers in Energy Research, vol. 7, no. 12.
White Papers & Research Reports
Climate Change and Energy Vulnerability of the American Poor. UH Energy White Paper Series: No.01.2023.
Net Zero in Texas: The Role of Transportation. UH Energy and Center for Carbon Management in Energy.
Climate Resilience in Houston: Implications of IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report for Houston’s Climate Action Plan. No.02.2022
Environmental Stewardship and Employment Choices in Energy. UH Energy and Hobby School. 2022.
Overview of Reporting of ESG Metrics by the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry. UH Energy White Paper Series: No.03.2021.
Climate Change and Carbon Management: Has the US Transcended Partisanship? UH Energy. 2021.
Carbon Management: Changing Attitudes and an Opportunity for Action. UH Energy. 2020.
Advancing Sustainable Low-Carbon Energy through Convergence. UH Energy White Paper Series: No.02.2020.
The Role of CO2 Emissions Reduction in Overall Corporate Sustainability. The Catalyst Group. 2020.
The Energy Workforce and COVID-19: Data-driven Policy Recommendations. UH Energy White Paper Series: 02.2020.
Opportunities and Challenges in the Permian. UH Energy White Paper Series: 02.2019.
Managing the Carbon Challenge for the Energy Sector – An Outline of Potential Uses for Negative Emissions Technologies in Energy. UH Energy White Paper Series: 03.2018.
Conference Papers
Datta, Aparajita, and Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Reskilling and Upskilling for the Energy Industry: The Role of Micro-credential Programs for Workforce Development. In American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy 2023 Industry Summer Study. 2023.
Aparajita, Datta. Who Gets to Keep the Lights On? LIHEAP’s Burden & Racial Marginalization. In APSA 2023 Annual Meeting. 2023.
Aparajita, Datta. Market-based Energy Policies as Promoters of Policy Diffusion: Evidence from Low and Moderate-Income (LMI) Solar Incentives in the U.S. In Climate Pipeline Project Conference. Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Harvard University. 2022.
Meehan, Nathan, Jenvey, Nigel, Datta, Aparajita, and Sai Pranav Uppati. Carbon Intensity of Unconventional and Latin American Oil Plays. In SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference. Society of Petroleum Engineers. 2020.
De Leon, Rafael, Datta, Aparajita, and Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Techno-Economic Modeling of Dual-Purpose LNG CO2 Shipping. In Carbon Management Technology Conference- CMTC. American Institute of Chemical Engineers. 2019.
De Leon, Rafael, Datta, Aparajita, and Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Modularization & Intensification of Carbon Capture Technologies. In 11th AIChE Southwest Process Technology Conference. American Institute of Chemical Engineers. 2019.
Other Publications
Krishnamoorti, Ramanan, and Aparajita Datta. “UH Researchers: Zero emissions by 2050 won’t be easy. Texas better get started”. [Op-ed]. Houston Chronicle, 9 Jun. 2023.
Krishnamoorti, Ramanan, and Aparajita Datta. “Carbon ships? Path to net-zero may take an overlooked approach by sea“. [Op-ed]. Houston Chronicle, 9 Jan. 2022.
Krishnamoorti, Ramanan, Datta, Aparajita, and Adam Mallette. “Nuclear waste – Texas may not be the solution“. [Op-ed]. The Hill, 11 Nov. 2020.
Krishnamoorti, Ramanan, and Aparajita Datta. “The Smart Bet for Carbon Neutrality“. [Op-ed]. Houston Chronicle. 8 Jun. 2020