Julie A. Cohn, Ph.D., is a research historian in the Center for Public History at the University of Houston. Her work focuses on energy infrastructures, environmental history, technological change, and the relationships between government, business, and the public. Cohn’s book, “The Grid, Biography of an American Technology” (MIT Press, 2017), examines the history of electrification in North America, and especially the story of how and why power companies chose to interconnect. Cohn has authored and coauthored articles in the IEEE Power & Energy Society Magazine, Journal of Global History, Proceedings of the IEEE, Information and Culture, and IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. In addition, she has contributed chapters to several edited volumes on topics related to electrification and the environment, including “American Energy Cinema,” released in 2023.

Current projects include investigation of electrification in Texas over the past century; collection of oral histories from engineers who worked on key control and optimization algorithms for the grid in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, development of historical context for technology challenges of  the current energy transition, and the examination of the evolution of reliability standards for electric power systems. Through collaboration with other researchers in the Center for Energy Studies at the Baker Institute, Cohn hopes to apply historical lessons to contemporary energy challenges.

Cohn holds a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Houston and both B.A. and M.A. degrees in anthropology from Stanford University.

Contact at [email protected] or 713-348-2217.