A longstanding research interest is the study of technological change and its relationship to economic growth, with a particular interest in energy systems. She received her BS in economic from the University of Southern Maine and her Masters and PhD in Regional Science from Cornell University. She worked as an Energy Market Analyst at Energy Security Analysis in Boston, Massachusetts before completing a post doc at the Harvard Business School. Deborah taught at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte before accepting a position at ASU in January, 2015.