Lynette Cheah

PhD candidate, Engineering Systems Division, MIT
Before a Transition to Hydrogen research group, Sloan Automotive Laboratory
E-mail: lynette [at] mit.edu

Research Interests

Sustainable energy use in the transportation sector
Material and energy flow analysis in industrial systems
Life-cycle environmental impact assessment of new technologies
Current research: Automobile weight and size reduction in the U.S.

Publications

On the Road in 2035: Reducing Transportation's Petroleum Consumption and GHG Emissions
Bandivadekar, A.; Bodek, K.; Cheah, L.; Evans, C.; Groode, T.; Heywood, J.; Kasseris, E.; Kromer, M.; Weiss, M.
MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, LFEE 2008-05 RP, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 2008.
The Trade-off between Automobile Acceleration Performance, Weight, and Fuel Consumption
Cheah, L. W.; Bandivadekar, A. P., Bodek, K. M., Kasseris, E. P., Heywood, J. B.
SAE paper 2008-01-1524, SAE International Powertrains, Fuels and Lubricants Congress, Shanghai, China, June 23-25, 2008.
Reducing the Fuel Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the US Vehicle Fleet
Bandivadekar, A. P.; Cheah, L; Evans, C.; Groode, T; Heywood, J; Kasseris, E; Kromer, M.; Weiss, M.
Energy Policy, Volume 36, Issue 7, Pages 2754-2760, July 2008.
Factor of Two: Halving the Fuel Consumption of New U.S. Automobiles by 2035
Cheah, L.; Evans, C.; Bandivadekar, A.; Heywood, J. B.
Chapter 4 in Reducing Climate Impacts in the Transportation Sector, D. Sperling, J.S. Cannon (eds), Springer.
Impact of vehicle weight reduction on the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet's fuel usage
Society of Women Engineers National Collegiate Poster Competition, Kansas City, Oct 2006.
Care for a little car? Renaissance of the small car in the U.S. market
Essay for MIT Environmental Writing Contest, Jan 2006.


The 2008 MINI Cooper is small, but hefty! It weighs 1,520kg (3,360lb) and gets only 29 mpg or 8.1L/100km - as much as a Honda Civic.		The 550kg (1,200lb), 2.0 L/100km (120mpg) turbo diesel Loremo LS concept car seats 4 passengers. Mass production is to begin in 2009.

The Smart fortwo has become available in the US since the beginning of 2008. It weighs just over a metric ton, consumes 6.5 L/100km (36 mpg).		The 2008 Scion xD weighs 1,190 kg (2,620lb) and uses 8.3 L/100km (28 mpg).

The Fit is go! The new generation 2009 Honda Fit weighs 1,170 kg (2,580lb), and sips 7.6 L of gasoline per 100km (31 mpg).		This is one chunky rabbit. The 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit looks small, but weighs 1,420 kg (3,138 lb) and uses 10.1 L/100km (23 mpg).