Constantine Spandagos

Konstantinos “Constantine” Spandagos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Σπανδάγος) is a Greek engineer and academic. He is an assistant professor of sustainable energy policy at the University of New Hampshire’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. His research combines elements from engineering, artificial intelligence, economics, psychology and data science to address technological, economic, and societal issues of energy and environmental policy in the United States, the European Union and Asia.

Early life and education
Constantine Spandagos was born in Athens, Greece, where he graduated from the National Technical University of Athens with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He subsequently moved to London, United Kingdom, where he earned a master’s degree in environmental technology, and a Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering, both from Imperial College London. He also graduated from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with a Ph.D. degree in civil engineering/energy technology.

Career and research
Spandagos is currently an assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire in the United States. Previously, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher, first at the Division of Public Policy of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and later in Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute and the Department of Economics of Trinity College Dublin. He also worked in the energy technology industry as a data scientist. His research has attracted the attention of major newspapers of record such as The Irish Times and South China Morning Post, scientific media outlets such as Science Trends, and sustainability-focused media such as Green Queen.

During his doctoral studies, Spandagos observed that computational models of energy and economic systems were typically relying on traditional economic theory, which assumed energy consumers to be completely rational (profit-maximizing) and self-interested. That assumption was often transferred into evidence-based energy policy formulation, which is commonly relying on such models. However, modern insights from behavioral economics challenge the full rationality paradigm, demonstrating that human decisions concerning energy consumption can also be not-fully-rational and driven by self-less motivation. Such insights were typically missing in energy systems models, potentially weakening their ability to generate more realistic energy consumption trends and predictions. In view of this, Spandagos developed an interdisciplinary modeling approach that integrates intangible behavioral concepts with quantitative physical factors into a single mathematical framework for improved prediction of human behavior within energy systems. His approach is based on fuzzy logic, a form of many-valued logic which considers "degrees of truth" rather than the usual "true or false" (1 or 0) Boolean logic. This study, published in Applied Energy, demonstrated the usefulness of integrating behavioral economics concepts and fuzzy logic to enhance the realism of energy systems models, and subsequently the design of sustainable energy policies.

Spandagos’ work has contributed to the understanding of the psychological mechanisms that drive consumers’ energy-saving behaviors and their acceptance of sustainable energy technology. He has also developed machine learning approaches for reliable prediction and targeting of energy poverty in households.

Selected publications
His publications include:


 * Spandagos, C. “Achieving decarbonization goals with biofuels: policy challenges and opportunities in the European Union and the United States”, in Jeguirim, M. and Zorpas, A. (2024). "Advances in Biofuels Production, Optimization and Applications”. [doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-95076-3.00003-X]
 * Spandagos, C., Tovar-Reaños, M.A. and Lynch, M.A. (2023) “Energy poverty prediction and effective targeting for just transitions with machine learning”. Energy Economics, 107131. [ 10.1016/j.eneco.2023.107131]
 * Spandagos, C., Tovar-Reaños, M.A. and Lynch, M.A. (2022). “Public Acceptance of Sustainable Energy Innovations in the European Union: A Multidimensional Framework for National Policy”. Journal of Cleaner Production, 130721. [ 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130721]
 * Spandagos, C., Baark, E., Ng, T.L. and Yarime, M. (2021). “Social influence and economic intervention policies to save energy at home: Critical questions for the new decade and evidence from air-condition use”. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 143 (2), 110915. [ 10.1016/j.rser.2021.110915]
 * Spandagos, C., Yarime, M., Baark, E. and Ng, T.L. (2020) “Triple Target policy framework to influence household energy behavior: Satisfy, strengthen, include”. Applied Energy, 269, 115117. [ 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115117]
 * Spandagos, C. and Ng, T.L. (2018). “Fuzzy model of residential energy decision making considering behavioral economics concepts”. Applied Energy, 213, pp. 611-625. [ 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.10.112]
 * Spandagos, C. and Ng, T.L. (2017). “Equivalent full-load hours for assessing climate change impact on building cooling and heating energy consumption in large Asian cities”. Applied Energy, 189, pp.352–368. [ 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.12.039]