Costa Samaras is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Affiliated Faculty in the Energy Science, Technology and Policy Program at Carnegie Mellon University. His research spans energy, climate change, automation, and defense analysis. He has published numerous studies examining electric and autonomous vehicles, renewable electricity, transitions in the energy sector, and climate resilience. 

Samaras currently serves as Director for the Center for Engineering and Resilience for Climate Adaptation, and as Co-Director of the Power Sector Carbon Index. He serves on the ASCE Committee on Adaptation to a Changing Climate, as well as both the Alternative Transportation Fuels & Technologies Committee and the Energy Committee of the Transportation Research Board. Samaras received a joint Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy and from Carnegie Mellon, a M.P.A. in Public Policy from the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University.

The UT Energy Symposium meets on Tuesdays during the spring 2020 semester.