Team

Current Students

Current PhD Students

CONNOR COLOMBE     [Link to Connor’s website]
PhD Student, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Previous Degrees:
MS, Computer Science, UT Dallas
BS, Physics and Mathematics, Harvey Mudd

Research Areas: carbon capture, utilization, and storage; energy policy; network optimization
Publications:
•  The effects of policy uncertainty and risk aversion on carbon capture, utilization, and storage investments (Energy Policy)
•  Optimal resource placement for electric grid resilience via network topology (Reliability Engineering & System Safety)
Honors, Awards, and Experiences:
•  IISE Energy Systems Division Best Student Paper Award, 2025
•  University Graduate Continuing Fellowship, UT Graduate School, 2025-26
•  Temple Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 2024
•  Quantitative Research Intern, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Summer 2024
•  Dennis J. O’Brien USAEE Best Student Paper Award, 2023
•  President, UT Austin student chapter of INFORMS, 2021-22

KATRINA MAYNOR
PhD Student, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Previous Degrees:
BS, Mechanical Engineering (minor in Business), Texas A&M


Research Areas: decision analysis, risk analysis, offshore wind
Co-Supervisor: Dr. Eric Bickel
Honors, Awards, and Experiences:
• Analyst Summer Intern, SmartOrg, 2024
• Fellow, INFEWS NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program
• President, UT Austin student chapter of INFORMS, 2022-23
• Public Relations Director, UT Austin Graduate Engineering Council, 2021-Present
• Business Consultant, Vitae Springs Vineyard, 2019-21
• Consulting Senior Analyst, Accenture, 2017-19

DONGHAO LIU
PhD Student, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Previous Degrees:
BEng, Computer Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Research Areas: optimization, investment under uncertainty, oil and gas
Publications:
•  Optimal investment planning for production networks with fixed production profiles (Computers & Operations Research)
Co-Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Bard
Honors, Awards, and Experiences:
• Intern in Intelligent City Department, Baidu, 2020-21
• Summer Research Program, University of Colorado Boulder, 2019
• Science and Engineering Summer School, University of Manchester, 2018

HUIDI MA
PhD Student, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Previous Degrees:
BS, Mathematics and Statistics, Wuhan University


Research Areas: sampling, risk analysis, optimization
Publications:
•  Optimal sampling strategy for probability estimation: An application to the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Monitoring program (Risk Analysis)
Co-Supervisor: Dr. John Hasenbein
Honors, Awards, and Experiences:
• Data Scientist – Research Intern, Google, Summer 2025
• Intern, NXP Semiconductors, 2022
• Intern, ByteDance, 2020-21
• Summer Research Program, University of British Columbia, 2019

ABDULLAH ALBELADI
PhD Student, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Previous Degrees:
MS, Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan
BS, Industrial Engineering, King Abdulaziz University
Research Areas: carbon capture, utilization, and storage; energy policy; multi-agent optimization
Honors, Awards, and Experiences:
• Runner Up, Dennis J. O’Brien USAEE Best Student Paper Award, 2024
• Intern-Statistics and Operations Research, United Airlines, Summer 2023 and 2024
• PhD Fellowship, King Abdulaziz University, 2021-2025
• Lecturer, King Abdulaziz University, 2014-2016, 2018-2020
• Production Planner, Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries, 2013-2014

NINA HEBEL
PhD Student, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Previous Degrees:
MS, Energy and Earth Resources, UT Austin
BS, Mechanical Engineering, Villanova University

Research Areas: energy policy, electricity, resource adequacy, macro-energy systems
Honors, Awards, and Experiences:
• Graduate Intern, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Summer 2025
• Student Fellow, Macro-Energy Systems Society, 2024-25
• Student Engineer, Electric Power Research Institute, Summer 2024
• Energy System Planning Analyst, Strategen Consulting, 2022-2023
• President, Longhorn Energy Club, 2021-2022
• Corporate Strategy Intern, Jupiter Power, 2021

YASH KUMAR
PhD Student, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Previous Degrees:
MS, Energy Science, Carnegie Mellon
BTech, Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi

Publications:
• Market analysis for the integration of new power technologies: A case study of the deployment of hybrid fossil-based generator plus energy storage (ES-FE) (Applied Energy)
• Effects of Short-Term Water Constraints on Electricity Dispatch: A Case Study of ERCOT and SPP Regions (ACS ES&T Water)
Research Areas: optimization algorithms, statistical modeling
Honors, Awards, and Experiences:
• Energy Data Scientist, Catalyst Cooperative, 2020-21
• Staff Engineer, National Energy Technology Laboratory, 2018-21
• Course Assistant Award, Scott Institute of Energy Innovation, 2018

STEPHEN BLANDFORD
PhD Student, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Previous Degrees:
BS, Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin


Research Areas: network optimization, infrastructure resilience
Honors, Awards, and Experiences:
• President, UT Austin student chapter of INFORMS, 2024-25
• Cockrell School of Engineering Fellowship, 2023-Present
• Process Quality Engineering Intern, FW Murphy Production Controls, 2022

 

Alumni

PhD Graduates

[10] Rachel Moglen
May 2024
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Disaster Preparedness and Restoration of Interconnected Infrastructure Systems
Job Placement: Integrated Energy Systems Modeler/Research Staff Level 3, Electric Power Research Institute

 

[9] Nan Zhang
May 2022
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Optimization Tools for Emerging Challenges in Power Systems
Job Placement: Research Scientist, Amazon Lab126

 

[8] Baturay Calci
May 2022
Co-Supervisor: Jonathan Bard
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Natural Gas Market Applications of Multi-Agent Optimization
Job Placement: Applied Scientist II, Uber

 

[7] Erick Jones
Aug. 2021
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Multi-System Optimization: Intermittent Production, Flexible Demand, Emerging Technologies
Job Placement: Assistant Professor (tenure track), UT Arlington

 

[6] Gopika Jayadev
May 2021
Co-Supervisor: Jonathan Bard
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Optimization Approaches for Energy Infrastructure Network Design
Job Placement: Machine Learning Scientist, Apple

 

[5] Qianru Zhu
May 2021
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Operations Research Models of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation at Diverse Scales
Job Placement: Engineer/Scientist II, Electric Power Research Institute

 

[4] Milad Naeini
May 2021
Co-Supervisor: J. Eric Bickel
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Uncertainty in Cost-Benefit Analysis of Climate Policy: Climate-Economy Model Evaluation and Extension
Job Placement: Data Scientist, Circle K

 

 

[3] Arkasama Bandyopadhyay
Aug. 2020
Co-Supervisor: Michael Webber
Mechanical Engineering
Techno-Economic Methods for Analyzing the Energetic and Economic Effects of Solar, Storage, and Demand Response
Job Placement: Research Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University

 

 

[2] Max Brozynski
May 2020
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Operations Research Models of Technology Transitions and the Role of Policy Support
Job Placement: Senior Consultant, Echelon Analytics
Current Position: Senior Consultant, FTI Consulting

 

[1] Urairisa “Birdy” Phathanapirom
Dec. 2018
Co-Supervisor: Derek Haas
Mechanical Engineering
Autonomous Decision Making in Fuel Cycle Simulators using a Game Theoretic Approach
Job Placement: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Current Position: R&D Associate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

 

 

MS Graduates

[11] Aidan Pimentel
May 2024
Co-Supervisor: J. Eric Bickel
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Hydrogen Supply Chain Optimization for Industrial Stationary Combustion Decarbonization Under U.S. Federal Policy Incentives
Job Placement: Junior Business Development Analyst, Repsol

 

 

[10] Le “Helen” Lu
Aug. 2022
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Designing Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure to Enable Disaster Evacuation
Job Placement: Research Scientist (Machine Learning), Fortna

 

[9] J. Sean Corcoran
May 2022
Energy and Earth Resources
Perceptions of Risk in Increasingly Capital-Intensive Electricity Grids: Measuring the Impacts of Accurate Cost of Capital Representation on Planning for Future Energy Systems
Job Placement: Associate, Marathon Capital

 

 

 

 

[8] Ella Morton
Dec. 2021
Co-Supervisor: Shadi Goodarzi
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Optimizing Hydrogen Production Capacity and Day Ahead Market Bidding for a Wind Farm
Job Placement: Product Manager, Apple

 

 

 

[7] Eli Ramthun
Dec. 2021
Co-Supervisor: David Adelman
Energy and Earth Resources
Winds of Change: Assessing Direct and Indirect Effects of Variable Renewable Energy Growth on the ERCOT Market
Job Placement: Energy Analyst, DNV

 

 

[6] Eiji Kawai
May 2021
Energy and Earth Resources
The Role of Carbon Capture and Utilization in Industrial Sector Decarbonization: A Case Study of Japan
Job Placement: Chief Engineer, Chiyoda Corporation

 

 

[5] Cade Bourque
Dec. 2020
Co-Supervisor: Kevin Clarno
Mechanical Engineering
Production Through Simulation: Using Simulation Technologies to Create and Evaluate Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Facility Designs
Job Placement: Post Masters Researcher, Los Alamos National Laboratory

 

 

[4] Brittany Speetles
May 2020
Co-Supervisor: Michael Webber
Mechanical Engineering
Representative Day Selection in Capacity Expansion Modeling
Job Placement: Energy Analyst, ICF

 

 

[3] Chris Lanham
May 2018
Energy and Earth Resources
Optimal Decarbonization Pathways for Urban Residential Building Energy Services
Job Placement: Project Engineer, Bluewing Midstream

 

[2] Peter Tutton
May 2018
Co-Supervisor: Susan Hovorka
Energy and Earth Resources
Carbon Capture and Storage Network Optimization Under Uncertainty
Job Placement: Research Scientist, Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin

 

[1] Kunal Punjabi
Dec. 2017
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering
Effects of Platform Design on Solar PV Prices in an Online Marketplace
Job Placement: Software Engineer, Amazon

 

Former Postdoctoral Researchers

[1] Balasubramanian Sambasivam
2021-2023
Co-Supervisors:        John Hasenbein, Kara Kockelman
Operations Research and Industrial Engineering; Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
Job Placement: Assistant Professor (tenure track), Mahindra University, India