Expertise

Topics:  Decision Analysis, Industrial Engineering, Energy, Uncertainty, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Industries: Research, Education/Learning

Paul Fischbeck's research focuses on the quantification and communication of uncertainty. This work covers both theoretical improvements to decision analysis and numerous applied real world problems.

Using a systems approach, Paul has studied a variety of topical problems. Working closely with graduate students, he has quantified the pollution caused by international shipping and proposed several engineering and economic solutions. Paul is a co-director of the Brownfields Center at Carnegie Mellon University and have developed RISES (Regional Industrial Site Evaluation Systems), a geographic information system (GIS) designed to evaluate the environmental risk and economic potential of abandoned industrial sites. Paul is currently studying performance-based regulations and how they can be used to improve fire-safety systems and oil-tanker design.

Paul also has an active research program in understanding and improving risk communication and the design of effective decision support systems. He has studied the actual and perceived risks of mine subsidence in western Pennsylvania, insurance-buying behavior in US and Japan, warning labels on paint strippers, and the health and environmental concerns of citizens in the Pittsburgh area. Paul is currently studying how farmers make crop-insurance purchase decision and perceptions of risk and diversification in financial markets and the power-generation industry.

Media Experience

What's the Carbon Footprint of Your Sofa, of Your Festival Meal?  — The Wire
“Food production – how the food is grown or raised – and meal preparation – how the food is cooked –both contribute to the carbon footprint. We broke our dinner down into its separate dishes, and then broke those down into the individual ingredients. For each ingredient, we tracked its carbon emissions from ‘farm-to-fork.’ Production and preparation both contribute about 50 pounds of carbon dioxide, but it varies from state to state and house to house,” said Paul Fischbeck, a professor of social and decisions sciences at CMU’s Dietrich College, in a news release.

Everyone is completely misinterpreting a new study about American diets  — Business Insider
"We looked at what Americans eat — we're not trying to change people's preferences — we looked at the USDA guidelines and assumed people would look at them and eat more of what they like," study author Paul Fischbeck, who is a professor of social sciences and engineering and public policy, told Business Insider.

Why That Study About How Vegetarians Are Killing the Environment Is Ridiculously Wrong  — Slate
The study rests on the premise that “going vegetarian” means replacing meat with large amounts of vegetables, fruits, and dairy, which is what the USDA recommends for a healthy diet. Ergo, the authors spend most of their time hating on specific vegetables: “Eating lettuce is over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon,” says Paul Fischbeck, one of the study’s authors. “Lots of common vegetables require more resources per calorie than you would think. Eggplant, celery, and cucumbers look particularly bad when compared to pork or chicken.”

Lettuce Produces More Greenhouse Gas Emissions Than Bacon Does  — Scientific American
"You cannot just jump and assume that any vegetarian diet is going to have a low impact on the environment," said Paul Fischbeck, professor of social and decision sciences and engineering and public policy and one of the authors of the study. "There are many that do, but not all. You can't treat all fruits and veggies as good for the environment."

Vegetarian and 'healthy' diets could be more harmful to the environment, researchers say  — ScienceDaily
"Eating lettuce is over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon," said Paul Fischbeck, professor of social and decisions sciences and engineering and public policy. "Lots of common vegetables require more resources per calorie than you would think. Eggplant, celery and cucumbers look particularly bad when compared to pork or chicken."