Alexander Kuptel was born and raised in Illinois. Before coming to MIT he earned a BA in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. Outside of research, he is a resident assistant in a graduate dorm and a host on WMBR, MIT’s student radio station.
Alexander studies operational and behavioral barriers to green technology adoption, particularly using dynamic modeling. Currently, his research focuses on heat pumps. Heat pumps electrify home heating, but their electricity demand may overwhelm the electric grid. Building a model of homeowners’ decisions to purchase heating systems, the study finds that improving barriers to adoption other than cost, such as training more heat pump installers, is as effective as increasing subsidies and does not increase grid load.