Ariel Liebman

Ariel was the Director of the Monash Energy Institute and a Professor of Practice in Sustainable Energy Systems in the department of Data Science and AI in the faculty of IT. Together with colleagues across the faculties of IT, Engineering, Business and Economics and others, Ariel also worked on the university’s Smart Energy Systems research program. Ariel led Monash's electricity grid-related Digital Energy initiatives. In these roles, he brought together researchers from across disciplines such as AI and Electrical Engineering.
From 2019-2022 Ariel was the founding leader of the RACE for Networks Program in the Reliable Affordable Clean Energy (RACE) for 2030 CRC (RACE for 2030) until March 2022.
Ariel was an energy specialist with more than 25 years of experience, including NEM price forecasting, investment planning, techno-economic grid modelling, electricity network monopoly regulation, and energy portfolio risk management.
He was co-architect of the Microgrid/Net Zero Initiative and lead researcher in the $3 mil ARENA-funded Smart Energy City. The Clayton campus infrastructure includes over 3MW of solar panels, 20 buildings, electric vehicle charging stations and a 1MWh Vanadium Redox Flow battery.
Ariel’s own research group’s focus was on the development and use of next-generation AI decision support tools for Integrated System Planning for national scale grids with near 100% renewables and storage as well as and planning and operation of DER-rich distribution grids.
Ariel previously led the Australia Indonesia Centre Energy Cluster and recently led a project in collaboration with Indonesian and European NGO’s showing that a shift to renewables can cost Indonesia no more than their current coal based plans while reaching 50% renewables by 2030.
Ariel Liebman passed away in November 2023. He was remembered by Monash University as an academic of global esteem, a researcher committed to real-world impact and a beloved colleague and friend.