Skip to main content
Brian Tarroja

Brian Tarroja

•Associate Professional Researcher (III), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
•Lecturer, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Visit Website

Biography

Brian Tarroja, Ph.D., P.E., is Associate Professional Researcher in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Manager of the Energy Systems Integration Group at the Advanced Power and Energy Program at the University of California, Irvine. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UC Irvine in 2014. Tarroja's research focuses on the design and optimization of integrated electricity, transportation, and water infrastructure systems, with emphasis on renewable energy integration, climate change impacts on energy systems, and environmental life cycle analysis of emerging technologies.

Dr. Tarroja has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on research projects totaling over $4 million in funding from agencies including the California Energy Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the University of California Office of the President. His work examines the technical and environmental implications of transitioning to decarbonized energy systems, including studies on electric vehicle integration, energy storage deployment, hydropower variability under climate change, and water-energy nexus challenges. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles with more than 2,500 citations.

Dr. Tarroja serves as Associate Editor for Earth's Future and has been a reviewer for numerous journals including Nature, Energy, and Applied Energy. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in California and has taught courses on sustainable energy systems and life cycle assessment at UC Irvine since 2014. Dr. Tarroja received the Professor of the Year Award from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Student Council in 2020. He currently serves as Concentration Co-Director for the Master of Engineering Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Return to top

Education

  • Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 2014
  • M.Sc. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 2011
  • B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 2009
  • B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 2009
Return to top

Distinctions

  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2010-2013
  • U.S. Department of Education GAANN Fellowship, 2009
  • Association of Energy Engineers Dennis Acton Memorial Scholar, 2013
  • Association of Energy Engineers Scholar, 2014
  • UC Irvine Distinguished Public Impact Fellow, 2014
  • Professor of the Year Award, Civil and Environmental Engineering Engineering Student Council at UC Irvine, 2020
  • UC Irvine Staff Appreciation Award, 2016
Return to top

Areas of Expertise

  • Sustainable Energy Systems Integration
  • Renewable Electricity Grid Planning
  • Electric Vehicle Smart Charging
  • Climate Change Infrastructure Adaptation
  • Flow Battery Life Cycle
  • Hydropower Flexibility Optimization
  • Water-Energy Nexus Dynamics

Recent Publications

  • Tarroja B., Forrest, K., Yamada, K., Saha, R., Hyland, M., “Estimating the Electricity System Benefits of Shifting Trips to Electric Bikes from Battery Electric Vehicles: A Case Study for California”, Journal of Cleaner Production, pp. 144840, 2025.
  • Tarroja B., Mulvaney, D., Peer, R., Grubert, E., “Evaluating the effectiveness of cost-minimal planning of decarbonized electricity systems in reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions”, Environmental Research: Energy, vol. 2, pp. 015008, 2025.
  • Tarroja B., Schoenung, J.M., Ogunseitan, O., Kendall, A., Qiu, Y., Malloy, T., Peters, J., Mijin Cha, J., Mulvaney, D., Heidrich, O., Baumann, M., “Overcoming Barriers to Improved Decision-Making for Sustainable Large-Scale Battery Deployment”, iScience, pp. 109898, 2024.
  • Analui, B., Tarroja, B., Sorooshian, S., Li, J., Zadeh, M.B., Rouzegari, N., Dao, V., “Identifying Hydropower Operational Flexibilities in Presence of Streamflow and Net-load Uncertainty”, 2024.
  • Tarroja, B., Peer, R., Grubert, E., “Assessing how non-carbon co-priorities affect zero-carbon electricity system development in California under current policies”, Journal of Cleaner Production, pp. 138633, 2023.
  • Rheinheimer, D., Tarroja B., Rallings, A.M., Willis, A.D., Viers, J.H., “Hydropower representation in water and energy system models: A review of divergences and call for reconciliation”, Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, vol. 3, pp. 012001, 2023.
  • Tarroja B., Samuelsen, S., “Cost Benefit Analysis of Additional Energy Storage Procurement”, 2023.
  • Forrest, K., Lane, B., Tarroja, B., Mac Kinnon, M., Samuelsen, S., “Emissions and Air Quality Implications of Enabling On-Road Vehicles as Flexible Load through Widescale Zero Emission Vehicle Deployment in California”, Transportation Research Record, 2022.
  • Oikonomou, K., Kern, J., Tarroja, B., Voisin, N., “Review of Core Process Representation in Power System Operational Models: Gaps, Challenges, and Opportunities for Multisector Dynamics Research”, Energy, pp. 122049, 2021.
  • Wang, S., Tarroja, B., Schell, L.S., Samuelsen, S., “Determining cost-optimal approaches for managing excess renewable electricity in decarbonized electricity systems”, Renewable Energy, vol. 178, pp. 1187-1197, 2021.
  • Tian, S., He, H., Kendall, A., Davis, S.J., Ogunseitan, O., Schoenung, J.M., Samuelsen, S., Tarroja, B., “Environmental Benefit-Detriment Thresholds for Flow Battery Energy Storage Systems: A Case Study in California”, Applied Energy, vol. 300, pp. 117354, 2021.
  • Tarroja, B., Hittinger, E., “The value of consumer acceptance of controlled electric vehicle charging in a decarbonizing grid: The case of California”, Energy, vol. 229, pp. 120691, 2021.
  • Tarroja, B., He, H., Tian, S., Ogunseitan, O., Schoenung, J.M., Samuelsen, S., “Life Cycle Assessment of Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Flow Battery Energy Storage Production and Use”, California Energy Commission, 2021.
Return to top

Contact Information

Website: https://btarroja.wixsite.com/btarroja

Email: btarroja@uci.edu

Phone: (949) 824-7302

Address: 1408 Engineering Hall

Return to top

This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 11/1/2026.