Robert Fares comes from a diverse background with a firm connection to energy. He was born to a Lebanese father and an American mother in Calgary, Canada, where he lived until the age of three. Since then, his family has lived in Saudi Arabia in a planned residential community operated by Saudi Aramco, one of the world's largest oil and gas producers.
Robert moved from Saudi Arabia to the United States in 2003 to attend boarding school in Virginia. In 2006, Robert began his undergraduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied Mechanical Engineering and English Composition. At Washington University, Robert developed a keen passion for solving complex engineering challenges relating to energy. He completed his undergraduate studies in 2010 and decided to attend The University of Texas at Austin to continue his study of the global energy system, energy engineering and the policy challenges associated with anthropogenic climate change.
Dr. Robert L. Fares is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, where he holds a joint research appointment at the Energy Institute and the Webber Energy Group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
His research focuses on modeling and operational management of grid-connected battery energy storage systems, and the economic and environmental tradeoffs associated with wider use of grid energy storage. He also studies electricity distribution system economics and evolving consumer-producer dynamics in electricity markets as part of a university-wide research initiative analyzing the “full cost of electricity” (including externalities) under various future resource and policy scenarios.
In addition to his research appointment at the University of Texas at Austin, Fares is also a writer for the Scientific American blog “Plugged In,” and the Associate Editor of the Springer journal Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports. Fares has authored eight peer-reviewed technical articles and over 30 general interest articles.
Follow on Twitter: @robertfares
Doctor of Philosophy, Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin, August 2015
Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin, August 2012
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis, May 2010
Minor: Writing
Magna Cum Laude
Thrust 2000 - Carroll H. Dunn Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Engineering
Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society