Dr. Peter M. Schwarz is an experienced economist with a diverse background in academia, research, and consulting. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from The Ohio State University, where he specialized in public finance, industrial organization and regulation, and econometrics. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Schwarz worked at a group that developed the foundation for the National Regulatory Research Institute, where he conducted research on topics such as time-of-day electricity rates. He also served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate courses in macroeconomics and microeconomics. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Schwarz did extensive research with the Duke Energy Company. In this role, he analyzed the effect of electricity tariffs. He also assisted attorneys on legal cases related to insurance, health care and divorce settlements. Dr. Schwarz has also held a visiting academic position at the China University of Mining and Technology and an off-site appointment at Research Triangle Institute, as well as team-teaching a masters-level course on sustainability at Wake Forest University. He has received grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. He has published numerous articles in academic journals on topics such as energy, brownfields, and carbon emissions in China. Currently, Dr. Schwarz is a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he teaches courses in energy economics. He continues to conduct research and publish on a variety of economic issues, and is frequently invited to speak at conferences and seminars around the world.