May 25, 2022

Six North Carolina Students Named to Fourth Cohort of Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Student Fellows

Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

 

This year, six emerging scholars from Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will take part in a unique Duke-based program aimed at preparing energy and climate innovators to make an impact.

The Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Student Fellows program is designed to deepen doctoral students' expertise in both data science and energy topics, spur impactful research, and create a network of North Carolina faculty and students interested in applying data science to energy challenges.

Want to deepen your own understanding of data science and energy topics—and how they intersect? The program's Foundations for Energy Data Analytics video series features lectures from energy and data science experts.

"Global decarbonization efforts call for experts who are proficient with the latest data science techniques and ready to use them to transform energy systems," noted Brian Murray, Ph.D., interim director of the Duke University Energy Initiative and Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. "The Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Student Fellows program is preparing scholars to respond to this urgent need."

Fellows will work with faculty mentors as they pursue independent research projects, take part in workshops on energy and data science topics, and polish their research communications skills. In addition to a stipend and partial tuition remission during the summer, fellows will receive up to $1,500 in funding for research and professional development.

Meet the 2022 Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Student Fellows:

  • Andrew Hutchens
    Andrew is a Ph.D. student in economics at North Carolina State University. He is interested in analyzing power plants' drought responses, using econometric models and machine learning to identify efficient electricity market mechanisms in the face of climate change.
  • Kshitiz Khanal
    Kshitiz is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He seeks to use novel machine learning and geospatial data science techniques to help plan for the decentralization and decarbonization of global energy systems.
  • Bander Linjawi
    Bander is a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke University. He aims to develop robust data-inverting models of atomic correlations that affect the performance of energy materials.
  • Rixi Peng
    Rixi is a Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering at Duke University. He is interested in using data-driven methods to improve energy efficiency for metasurface holograms.
  • Jethro Ssengonzi
    Jethro is a Ph.D. student in civil engineering at North Carolina State University focusing on energy systems modeling by use of the capacity credit metric. His work addresses innovative infrastructure development to improve societal quality of life and efficiency in the workplace.
  • Alexander Yoshizumi
    Alexander is a Ph.D. candidate at North Carolina State University's Center for Geospatial Analytics. With expertise in systems modeling and geospatial analytics, he researches questions at the intersection of energy, transportation, and land-use change.

To date, the first three cohorts of Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Student Fellows have collectively produced 20 journal or conference papers/presentations, 18 "lightning talk" video presentations, and six code repositories and datasets. Former fellows are employed by top research institutions, public agencies, and companies, including the California Air Resources Board, Carnegie Institution for Science, Fudan University (China), Rocky Mountain Institute, and SenseTime.

The program is organized by Duke's Energy Data Analytics Lab, a collaboration among the Energy Initiative and Nicholas Institute (which are in the process of merging) as well as Duke's Rhodes Information Initiative and Social Science Research Institute (SSRI). The fellows program, which will begin accepting applications for 2023 in the fall, is open to students at Duke University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The Energy Data Analytics Ph.D. Student Fellows Program is funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. (Note: Conclusions reached or positions taken by researchers or other grantees represent the views of the grantees themselves and not those of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation or its trustees, officers, or staff.)

Questions? Contact Kyle Bradbury, Ph.D., managing director of Duke University's Energy Data Analytics Lab and assistant research professor at the Pratt School of Engineering.