Kyle Johnson
Department: Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Advisor: Vikram Iyer I am a fourth year Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington (UW) where I work in the SSOL Lab with professor Vikram Iyer. I also work with Sawyer Fuller in the Autonomous Insect Robotics Lab and Shyam Gollakota in the Networks & Mobile Systems lab. My research is focused on leveraging combinations of low-power actuators and the structural properties in systems, like the bistability demonstrated in leaf-out origami, to create insect-scale and battery-free autonomous robots optimized for resource constrained applications. I am a co-founder and the current executive Director of the...
Elizabeth Echavarria
Department: Political Science Faculty Advisor: Aseem Prakash Elizabeth Echavarria is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science, interested in Comparative and Environmental Politics. She is advised by Professor Aseem Prakash, who is the founding director of the UW Center for Environmental Politics. Her research explores non-state market-driven governance initiatives, particularly in the mining and minerals industry, concerning its fundamental role in the development of renewable sources of energy and enabling a just energy transition. Before her doctoral studies, Elizabeth worked as a program and project manager at various NGOs. She holds a BA in Political Science from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and an MSc...
Vicente Arroyos
Department: Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Advisor: Vikram Iyer I am a Ph.D. student in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington (UW) where I work with Vikram Iyer. I also do some work in the Autonomous Insect Robotics Lab run by Sawyer Fuller. Before I joined the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. My research interests include low-power electronics, small-scale robotics, computing for sustainability, and applications of machine learning. I am the cofounder of A Vision for Electronic Literacy & Access (AVELA). K-12 STEM outreach is one of my passions, and I actively pursue efforts to widen STEM interest of...
June Lukuyu
June Lukuyu is an assistant professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Washington. She joined the UW in January 2023 after completing her Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She is an Energy for Growth Hub Fellow. Lukuyu's research focuses on developing and planning for inclusive energy systems and innovative technologies in underserved communities, centering on promoting sustainability, social development, and human empowerment. Her work uses a wide range of data analytics, computing techniques, and social science methods to build models for integrated energy development, and systems planning, with model outputs aimed at informing energy, climate, and development decision-making. Website | LinkedIn...
Chaoyue Zhao
Dr. Zhao works on data-driven optimization methodologies to support strategic and operational planning in power systems management. She developed innovative data-driven approaches to enable effective decision-making under uncertainty for power system scheduling problems such as optimal power flow and unit commitment. Her analytical models advance scalable solution methods to improve cost-effectiveness, streamline daily power system operations, and mitigate system disruptions and risk. Email | Website...
Jiayi Li
I will work on large-scale integration of renewable energy resources such as rooftop solar PV: specifically, I will develop state-of-the-art tools at the intersection of machine learning and power system control to safely and efficiently integrate distributed energy resources. A motivating application for me is the integration of solar PV into the distribution system. They can both create large and rapid voltage fluctuations, as well as correcting them using inverter interfaces. Optimizing the actions of inverters is complex and computationally very challenging. Machine learning can be very helpful in designing the controllers but due to the uncertainty and volatility of the system, existing methods do...
Anne Goodchild
Dr. Anne Goodchild leads the University of Washington's academic and research efforts in the area of supply chain, logistics, and freight transportation. She is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and serves as Founding Director of both the Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics online Master's degree program and the Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Center, the latter which launched the Urban Freight Lab (UFL) in 2016 to bring together the public and private sectors to address the challenges of the urban freight system by engaging in innovative research. Email | Website...
Mareldi Ahumada Paras
My research is focused on resiliency of power systems, specifically in recovery optimization after outages caused by extreme events such as hurricanes, earthquakes and storms. 1) Use data driven case study to optimize utility schedules of repair crews and enhance the recovery phase of a power outage. 2) Quantify the impact of natural gas faults on power generating units in a co-optimized framework. Advisor: Daniel Kirschen - Electrical & Computer Engineering ...
Wenqi Cui
Renewable energy sources have brought more uncertainties to the operation of energy systems. Two challenges emerge. Firstly, we generally do not know the exact model and parameters of these energy resources. Secondly, robustly incorporating the uncertainties in operations is intractable using traditional control methods. Machine learning, especially reinforcement learning techniques, can potentially overcome these challenges by interacting with the environment to find good control strategies. Despite its potential, reinforcement learning does not readily apply to critical physical systems with hard constraints. My research focuses on closing these gaps to allow for the robust control of inverter-interfaced devices in energy systems. I will analyze problems with...
Ling Zhang
My research centers on the application of generative models in the context of renewable energy systems. By developing generative models, we can account for uncertainty without explicitly modeling probability. Advisor: Daniel Kirschen — Electrical & Computer Engineering ...
Daniel Tabas
My research aims to develop a robust control framework for improving transient stability margins in low-inertia grids, in order to safely accommodate more renewable energy. Advisor: Baosen Zhang — Electrical & Computer Engineering ...
Lane Smith
My research will focus on optimizing distributed energy resource (DER) utilization to ensure that maximum value is realized. Advisor: Daniel Kirschen — Electrical & Computer Engineering ...