Saul Griffith

Thoughts, articles, papers

October 11, 2021

COP 26: Here’s the speech I’d like to hear

If I were the Australian Prime Minister, a few words to lead the world

July 16, 2021

One Billion Machines

Decarbonization, demystified

April 29, 2021

You Go, Joe!

April 22, 2021

An Earth Day Climate Assessment

January 19, 2021

If I were writing the (new!) President’s climate emergency speech

November 24, 2020

If I were Secretary of Energy

(Warning/TLDR : You can’t fix the DOE in 1000 words)

More thoughts

October 26, 2020

Butchers, Bakers and LED Makers

Our study shows that switching to clean energy backed by renewables in the U.S. will create 25 million new jobs, most of which can’t be out-sourced.

October 1, 2020

Household Savings Report

No Place Like Home: Fighting Climate Change (and Saving Money) by Electrifying America’s Households By Saul Griffith and Sam Calisch

August 8, 2020

Would switching to clean energy cause job losses? Nope–millions more.

Rewiring America takes on the American Petroleum Institute

July 1, 2020

Jobs Report

Mobilizing for a zero carbon America: Jobs, jobs, jobs, and more jobs By Saul Griffith, Sam Calisch, and Alex Laskey

January 15, 2020

SOLVING CLIMATE CHANGE WITH A LOAN

Introductory caveat ; I’m a science-y engineer, I’m not an economist, so read this at your own risk. Also, ask yourself whether you call an engineer or an economist in case of an emergency.

August 20, 2019

Big Ideas, Small Companies, and ARPA-E Innovation

Saul Griffith’s submitted testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, Energy Subcommittee, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.

May 24, 2019

How do we decarbonize?

We don’t need a miracle. Everything we need to solve climate change is already here.

April 9, 2019

Green New Deal: How much does fixing climate change cost the US?

A real-world argument with numbers you can check for yourself.

February 21, 2019

The Green New Deal: The enormous opportunity in shooting for the moon.

Decarbonizing with massive electrification will bring about a new American abundance.

Media

October 12, 2021

How we get to 100% electrical everything

The next car or appliance you buy will be in use for at least a decade. It needs to run on electricity—not fossil fuels. How can we get everyone to make that decision for their next purchase?

September 30, 2021

13 New Books for October

This month, we’ve got our eyes on Black Food, MacArthur Park, I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness, and 10 other titles by writers from the West.

August 25, 2021

Electrify: Kirkus Starred Book Review

Surprisingly optimistic, realistic, and persuasive.

August 18, 2021

Are We Finally Ready to Tackle the Other Greenhouse Gas?

The smokestack of a ship might help us deal with spiking levels of methane.

August 10, 2021

Inventor Saul Griffith Wants to Electrify Everything, Starting With Your Home

The Australian-born energy expert and creative polymath believes we can power every residence in the United States with renewable energy.

July 16, 2021

Book Review: How to Win the War Against Climate Change — Go Electric

Instead of techno-utopian rhetoric, Electrify offers a plan with pragmatic steps to create a better environment and a stronger economy.

More media

June 28, 2021

Volts podcast: Saul Griffith and Arch Rao on electrifying your house

The promise and challenges of residential electrification.

June 22, 2021

What if American Democracy Fails the Climate Crisis?

Ezra Klein and four environmental thinkers discuss the limits of politics in facing down the threat to the planet.

June 10, 2021

Saul Griffith on the one billion machines that will electrify America

GreenBiz Group’s VERGE Electrify

June 8, 2021

Your Next Car and Clothes Dryer Could Help Save Our Planet

May 28, 2021

An Australian inventor wants to stop global warming by electrifying everything

Climate Visionaries highlights brilliant people around the world who are working to find climate solutions.

May 23, 2021

A Wartime Plan for Electrifying America

What if someone told you that we have everything we need to decarbonize most of the economy? We would just need to start electrifying every new car, furnace, water heater, drier, and cookstove, and industrial process starting right now. And yeah, and put solar on every roof that can handle it.

April 29, 2021

The Wind and Solar Boom Is Here

It can be difficult to muster much optimism about humanity’s capacity to address climate change...

March 24, 2021

How do we doom the planet? Let Saul Griffith count the ways.

Climate change is the fault of Shell...and your BBQ, your stove, your heater, and your car.

November 11, 2020

Where Do We Go From Here on Climate Justice

Saul Griffith - Series #5 Where Do We Go From Here for Climate Justice? | CEMTF

August 12, 2020

The World Has Reached Decision Time on the Climate Crisis

August 11, 2020

Decarbonization can fix the jobs crisis and the climate crisis, scientist says

Part of: Reimagining the economy

August 6, 2020

It's Time To Rewire America

A new non-profit called Rewiring America says that decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2035 would create 25 million jobs across the country! It even has a plan to help us get there.

October 16, 2019

How to solve climate change and make life more awesome

We already have all the tools we need to fix climate change. We just need to use them.

About Saul

Saul Griffith is an engineer and inventor. As founder and chief scientist at Otherlab, an independent R&D lab, he helps government agencies and Fortune 500 companies understand energy infrastructure and deep decarbonization. He’s been a principal investigator and project lead on federally-funded research projects for agencies including NASA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-e), National Science Foundation and United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). He was awarded the MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2007. He completed his PhD at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004.
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Saul is also founder and chief scientist at Rewiring America, a nonprofit dedicated to widespread electrification as a means of fighting climate change, creating jobs, making our air cleaning, and saving the future for our children.

Saul received his Ph.D. at MIT in the junction between materials science and information theory. Prior to MIT, he studied in Sydney, Australia and at UC Berkeley in metallurgical engineering. Since graduating in 2004, he has founded and co-founded numerous technology companies based in the Bay Area. These include Treau (now Gradient), Sunfolding, Roam Robotics, Fablight, Wattzon, Canvas Construction, Makani Power (acquired by Google), Instructables.com (acquired by Autodesk), Squid Labs, Howtoons, Optiopia, Potenco, and Stow Energy.

Saul, born in Australia, is a father of two, and a consistent champion of STEAM education (including the A for ART!).

Curriculum vitae

Dr. Saul Griffith

‍Otherlab, Inc.
‍San Francisco, CA 94110
‍saul@otherlab.com
‍www.saulgriffith.com
‍www.otherlab.com

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Education

Ph.D., Media Laboratory (2004), Massachusetts Institute of Technology

‍Ph.D.Thesis: ‘Growing Machines.’ Programmable assembly and self-replicating machines. First autonomous, self-replicating machines implemented in hardware. Constructive proof that a linear string of polyhedra can fold without self-intersecting into arbitrary 3D structure.

M.S., Media Laboratory (2001),Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Masters Thesis: Micron and Sub-micron scale rapid prototyping. Designed and developed novel 3-dimensional, multiple material, methods and apparatus for processing nanocrystalline suspensions into electronically functional devices.

M., Eng (2000), University of Sydney, Australia

‍Masters Thesis: Fibre Composite Materials. Developed and designed machinery for reprocessing post-consumer textiles and post consumer thermoplastics into structural building materials.

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Board Member

‍Founder or Co-founder Rewiring America, 2019
Gradient Comfort (formerly Treu) (2018 - present)
Canvas Robotics (2016 - present)
Sunfolding (2012 - present)
Roam Robotics (2017 - present)
Volute (2017 - present)
Kestrel Materials (2017 - present)
3D FabLight (2015 - present)
Other Machine Co. (2013 - 2017)
Gradient Comfort (formerly Treu), 2018
Everfly, 2017
Kestrel Materials, 2017
Passerine Aircraft, 2017
Volute, 2013
Pneubotics / Canvas Robotics, 2013
Roam Robotics, 2013
SunFolding, 2012
Other Machine Company, 2012
OtherFab LLC, 2011
OtherLab LLC, 2009
Potenco, 2009
Makani Power, 2009
Wattzon, 2008
Optiopia, 2007
Instructables, 2007
SquidLabs LLC, 2004
Howtoons, 2004

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Awards and Honors

‍The Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, 2019
UNSW Alumni Award for Science and Technology, 2018
Australian Academy of Technical Sciences and Engineering Symposium Fellow, 2012
Global Australian Advance Award Winner, Advanced Manufacturing, 2012
World Economic Forum - ‘Young Global Leader’, 2011
Business Week - ‘Best Idea 2008’
MacArthur Fellows recipient, 2007
WIRED ‘Rave’ awards, 2006
Time Magazine - ‘Top Inventions of 2005’ (Smart electronic rope)
Technology Review Magazine; TR35, 35 Top Innovators under 35 ‘Technologist in the aid of humanity’ award, 2005
Lemelson-MIT $30,000 Student Prize for invention, 2003
MIT IDEAS Competition Award, Boeing Company Domestic Prize, 2003
Aust. Academy of Technical Sciences and Engineering Symposium Fellow, 2002
National Inventors Hall Of Fame, National Collegiate Inventors Award, 2001
MIT LEGO Fellow, 2001

Inventor, author, founder and scientist.

Books

Electrify

The Big Switch