Joana Marques Melo, Ph.D., is a senior program associate at the AAAS Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues (EPI Center). In this role, she manages various projects, including those related to oil and gas development, such as the AAAS Orphan and Abandoned Wells (OAW) working group.
Joana has a diverse interdisciplinary background with broad national and international experience in industry and academia, spanning engineering, management, and education. Her research experience includes energy efficiency, reduction of primary energy consumption, and distributed energy resources. This global perspective, coupled with her tenure as an engineering faculty at Purdue University, led her to her current role at AAAS, where she bridges the gap between science and policy.
Joana earned her Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. She also holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from ISEP in Portugal and a master’s degree in Energy for Sustainable Development from UPC in Spain