Caspar Donnison

Path to Livermore

Shaped by his early days backpacking the rugged trails of the United Kingdom’s national parks and swimming in the cold waters of Cardigan Bay, postdoctoral researcher Caspar Donnison developed a lasting curiosity for humanity’s connection to nature. Growing up in rural West Wales, far from where the policy decisions were being made, Donnison became aware of how political and economic choices can have rippling effects, reaching even the most isolated and remote areas around the world. 

Donnison sought to dive deeper into these philosophical questions with his undergraduate studies in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Oxford. While learning to view the world’s challenges from multiple angles and disciplines, Donnison came to appreciate their scientific and technical complexities, leading to his pursuit of a Ph.D. in Environmental Economics at the University of Southampton. It was not until his final years as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Davis, where he studied U.S. environmental challenges and policy, that Donnison began to envision a future at LLNL, seeing an opportunity to apply his multidisciplinary background to real-world problems. 

Mission-Driven Research and Collaboration

At the heart of Donnison’s environmental research at Livermore is the nation’s growing demand for energy, a challenge becoming increasingly visible with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. He works to inform policy on sources for this power, reporting on public opinion, feasibility, and effectiveness of energy sources. 

Since joining the Laboratory in 2024, Donnison has quickly adapted to this role, recognizing the importance of scientific communication in the policy landscape. Not only has he testified to the California State Legislature and briefed state senators and assemblymembers, but he was also named finalist and third place winner in both the 2024 Livermore Research SLAM and Bay Area Research SLAM, two competitions for Laboratory postdoctoral researchers to communicate their ideas to non-technical audiences.

One energy source central to Donnison’s research is an emerging technology called agrivoltaics, or dual-use solar, which also served as the focus of his Research SLAM presentation Combining solar power generation with active farmland use, agrivoltaics pose an opportunity for rural communities and renewable energy developers to work together on sustainable land use. Analyzing the language and public sentiment in over 400 U.S. newspaper articles, Donnison and his team synthesized findings into a summary of recommendations for policymakers and project developers. This qualitative work, funded by Laboratory Directed Research and Development, has since been combined with more quantitative research at the Laboratory, to model the potential benefits of placing agrivoltaics in different U.S. regions. 

Donnison more broadly extends his approach of bridging policy analysis with technical science through his work with the state of California, including several policy briefs on the Californian carbon market. “Balancing climate stringency with growth is the challenge,” Donnison explains. “Policymakers want to support these technologies while also prioritizing energy affordability for households and businesses.” Driven by these general priorities among the policymakers and the public, Donnison also brings his economic perspective to emerging discussions around artificial intelligence (AI). As a co-author of the Livermore Data Science Institute’s report on the role of AI in California, Donnison led the assessment of economic risks and opportunities. “Whether in energy, carbon management, or AI advancement, we, as scientists, have a key role in securing the future for humanity,” says Donnison. 

Vision for the Future

Far from the valleys of West Wales, Donnison now sits in the room with the decision makers, experiencing firsthand the pressure of today’s environmental complexities. He appreciates Livermore’s unique positioning at the intersection of energy innovation and policy, confident in its potential to make lasting strides towards U.S. energy security. 

“We need to help design policies that stand the test of time,” Donnison urges. “I hope that in ten years’ time, we have done a good job presenting the best available understanding of these technologies, creating the best conditions for good policies to be designed.”

Awards and Honors

Fellow, Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Economics, Germany, 2025

3rd place, LLNL Research SLAM finals and the Bay Area Research SLAM finals, 2024