Eric Kemp-Benedict

Eric Kemp-Benedict is a senior scientist at SEI-US in Somerville, MA. He is a co-leader of the SEI Initiative on the Water, Energy and Food Nexus. His research focuses on economic analysis for sustainable consumption and production. From the time Eric joined SEI in 1997, he has contributed to studies on diverse topics of relevance to sustainability at national, regional, and global levels, including on poverty and income distribution; social dynamics; water, livestock, and land use; and rural livelihoods. He has also actively developed and applied tools and methods for participatory and study-specific sustainability analyses.

Eric led SEI’s Rethinking Development theme during 2011 and 2012, and from February 2013 until February 2016 he was director of SEI’s Asia Centre. As director, he was responsible for research, administrative and financial leadership. He was also part of SEI’s international management and helped coordinate the Asia Centre’s interactions with headquarters and with SEI colleagues worldwide.

He has a B.S. in physics from the University of Texas in Austin and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Boston University in 1997, as well as an MAT in secondary physics education.