Author Archives: WeiWei

Michelle Vaccaro

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Michelle Vaccaro joined the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS) as a PhD student in September 2021. Her research focuses on human-AI collaboration, and she is particularly interested in combining expert knowledge and data-driven models to forecast technological change. Before coming to MIT, Michelle worked at Goldman Sachs in foreign exchange strategy and structuring. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2019 from Harvard College, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with highest departmental honors in Computer Science. Her research has been generously supported by the Bose Fellowship and Accenture Fellowship.

Contact: vaccaro at mit dot edu

Frederik Boe Hüttel

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Frederik Boe Hüttel is a visiting PhD student at the Institute for Data, Systems and Society (IDSS) at MIT. His PhD is done at the Machine Learning for Smart Mobility lab at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) under the supervision of Francisco Camara Pereira. Frederik holds a BSc Eng. in Software Technology, focusing on the applications of machine learning models and an MSc Eng. in applied mathematical modelling, focusing on Machine Learning and Statistical Analysis. His main research interests include machine learning for demand modelling under uncertainty, which he applies to create intelligent and sustainable transportation systems. The main focus of Frederik’s PhD research is on the intersection between power systems and transportation modelling for electric vehicle infrastructure expansion.

Kelly Wu

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Kelly Wu is an MIT undergraduate studying chemical engineering and interested in both the technical and social spheres of transitioning energy systems. Previously, she has worked on chemical industry graph networks through the Manthiram lab and coded for the MIT Energy Initiative’s SESAME lifecycle energy emissions tool. She has also interned at a renewables investment bank, oil major, and Spanish renewables developer. Her research in the Trancik lab focuses on determining hydrogen cost targets for an electricity grid consisting of renewables and hydrogen storage.

 

Daniel Brown

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Daniel Brown is an MIT undergraduate majoring in electrical engineering and computer science. His research is focused on analyzing and evaluating demand side management strategies to mitigate supply gaps in renewable power systems and lower costs for consumers and utilities.

Shannon Hwang

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Shannon Hwang is a PhD student in the Social and Engineering Systems (SES) program at MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS). She received her MEng. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and minor in Energy Studies from MIT, and interned at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory prior to starting graduate school. Her research explores methods for reliably providing energy under variability and uncertainty in deeply decarbonized energy systems.
Contact: hwangys at mit dot edu

Dr. Christine Gschwendtner

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Christine Gschwendtner is a postdoctoral associate at the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), focusing on the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of human-technology interactions. She is particularly interested in the intersection of the energy, mobility, and building sectors in the context of climate change and digitalization. She is currently working on demand-side management solutions for increasing electrification and decarbonization across sectors. Her interdisciplinary research connects engineering, data science, urban design, and social science, using a variety of methods, e.g., agent-based modeling, geospatial data analyses, choice experiments, surveys, and interviews. Before joining MIT, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University and received her PhD from ETH Zurich in sustainable energy systems. She holds a Master of Science in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from the Technical University of Munich with an academic year abroad at the Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge.

Contact: cgschwen at mit dot edu

Dr. Aliza Khurram

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Aliza Khurram is a postdoctoral associate at the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS) at MIT. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 2020, her S.M. in the same field from MIT in 2017, and her B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Bates College in 2015. Her research is geared towards devising infrastructure development strategies for hydrogen-fueled mobility services and understanding the costs and benefits of distributed vs. centralized energy storage systems.

Contact: akhurram at mit dot edu

Max DiGiacomo-Castillo

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Max DiGiacomo-Castillo is a rising junior at Stanford. His research focuses on blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Recently, he has focused on the sustainability of cryptocurrency mining and other blockchain projects.

Eva Anderson

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Eva Anderson received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Energy Studies from MIT in 2022. She completed her undergraduate thesis in the Trancik lab, focusing on hydrogen production and storage cost targets for deeply decarbonized electricity systems.

Contact: evaa at mit dot edu