MODI RESEARCH GROUP – ALUMNI
Jose Barnuevo, Researcher,
Rural Electrification (2009)
jrbarnuevo@yahoo.es
Jose Barnuevo holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from Madrid Polytechinical University. He has experience in environmental supervision and consulting. In April 2009, Jose spent a month assessing the electrical status and future possiblities for connectivity at the MVP site in Potou, Senegal. He also estimated the economical costs of introducing two-wheeled tractors in Sub-Saharan African countries.
Reuben Bushnell, Lead Researcher,
Lantern Project (2005-2008)
reb2121@columbia.edu
Reuben Bushnell’s research focused on testing and evaluating low-cost battery and solar-powered lanterns for use in rural areas for the Millennium Villages Project. He suggested revisions to the circuitry and firmware as necessary; reverse-engineered similar commercial alternatives, provided technical evaluations for the use of MVProject staff and provided technical support for staff in Africa during field trials.
Rodney Chang,
LIDAR (Summer 2008) & Solar Concentration (Summer 2009)
rc2378@columbia.edu
Rodney’s work focuses on how terrain data is useful for agriculture, particularly in developing countries. The use of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is potentially cheaper and faster than conventional terrain-mapping techniques while maintaining sub-meter accuracy. The data promises to be greatly beneficial to agriculture, especially for the design and construction of water management systems.
Craig Danton, Researcher,
Lantern Project (2008)
cad2118@columbia.edu
Craig Danton is an Electrical Engineering undergraduate specializing in the testing and analysis of electrical circuits for lighting and consumer products. Specifically, he worked on the Lantern Project as well as cell phone charging products for business and health care applications. Craig also explored geographical modeling of community health care workers to improve the efficiency of their allocation to developing areas.
Sandy Eapen, Malawi intern,
Lantern Project
(Summer 2008 & Summer 2009)
seapen07@gsb.columbia.edu
Sandy Eapen, MBA/MIA ’08 is managing a small-scale market trial for
solar LED lanterns in Mwandama, Malawi. She has been collaborating with
the MVP NYC and Malawi teams to assess the business model for the
lanterns, estimate market demand, and evaluate the degree to which the
use of lanterns substitute the use of kerosene.
She hopes that the trial will start transitioning villagers from
inefficient and unhealthy kerosene to the solar lanterns.
Bethany Fisher, Researcher,
Lister Engine (2006-2008)
bethanycfisher@gmail.com
Bethany Fisher came to Columbia from the University of Puget Sound as a part of the 3-2 Combined Plan program. She began working with the Modi research group at the end of the first semester of her junior year, initially just helping with light testing for the Lighting Group. In the second semester of her junior year, she began working with Matt Basinger on the Lister Engine, as well as helping with the lighting group from time to time. She continued working in Modi’s lab throughout her senior year. Next year, she will start graduate school at Colorado State University and will be involved with research at their Engine and Energy Conversion Lab (EECL).
Brett Gleitsmann, Water Research Coordinator
African Piping Project (2007-2009)
brett.gleitsmann@millenniumpromise.org
Brett Gleitsmann (MS Environmental Engineering, Cornell University) was the Water Research Coordinator for the Millennium Villages Project for two years. He worked for several years in Sub-Saharan Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cote d’Ivoire and also as Researcher in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Mali. His research has focused on rural water supply infrastructure projects in West Africa and the effect of deforestation on the hydrology and nutrient cycling of several headwater catchments in Western Kenya.
Alex Hofmann, Researcher,
Rural Electrification
ah2678@columbia.edu
Alex Hofmann is a graduate of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia. He is working with the Modi research group to help create a platform for optimising electrical infrastructure. He is studying programming, photovoltaic systems, transformers and electricity economics and is focused on parameterization and program integration for electrification models.
Tae Young Lee, researcher, Biomass Cookstoves
(2007-2008) tl2305@columbia.edu
Tae Young Lee is using CFD to investigate the combustion process of a typical wood burning cook stove. This will give insights on how to improve stove designs.
Matt McCarthy, Researcher, MEMS-Based Sensors
mattmcc@umd.edu (2002-2006)
Dr. Matt McCarthy’s graduate research was focused on MEMS-based sensors and actuators for microfluidic, aerospace and cooling applications. His Doctoral thesis was on the design, fabrication and characterization of a novel microvalve for self-adaptive micro-cooling applications. He joined the MEMS Sensors and Actuators Lab at The University of Maryland as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in October 2006. His research efforts are focused on the development of emerging Power-MEMS technologies with particular emphasis on high-speed ball-bearing supported micromachines, tribological characterization of rolling contact at the microscale, and nanostructured MEMS energy storage devices.
Link to Dr. McCarthy’s website
Sudeep Moniz, Researcher,
Rural Electrification (2007-2008)
sm2716@columbia.edu
Sudeep Moniz worked on analyzing empirical data on the levels of electrification in Indian states. He attempted to derive relationships of electrification metrics, such as length of transmission line per connection and connections per transformer, as functions of explanatory variables such as connection density and percentage of rural households electrified. He aimed to give an empirical basis for hypothetical estimations of these metrics.
Gautam Nair, Researcher,
Lantern Project (2009)
gautam.nair23@gmail.com
Gautam Nair compiled baseline energy and fuel reports based on household level statistics for several Millennium Villages, in addition to analyzing surveys on the introduction of solar-powered LED lanterns at the MVP site in Mwandama, Malawi. Gautam holds a degree in economics from Colby College, with a focus on environmental and natural resource economics.
Joseph Nyangon, Researcher,
Rural Electrification (2008)
jnyangon@gmail.com
Joseph Nyangon is carrying out research on comparative analysis of energy costing and consumption patterns in sub-Saharan Africa.
Lily Parshall, Lead Researcher,
Rural Electrification
llp15@columbia.edu (2006-2008)
Lily Parshall is a fourth year PhD candidate in Sustainable
Development at Columbia University and recipient of an NSF IGERT
fellowship. She studies climate and energy systems at local to
national scales. Currently she is developing a spatially explicit
model of demand for heat and power in New York; determining the
feasibility, costs and relevant scales of distribution for several
alternative technology options; and identifying opportunities for
implementation based on model results. Other projects include studying
patterns of urban energy consumption across the United States in
partnership with the International Energy Agency and modeling rural
electrification scenarios in Senegal and Kenya for the World Bank. She
holds a B.A. in Earth and Environmental Science from Columbia
University.
Dana Pillai, Lead Researcher,
Rural Electrification (2005-2008)
dsp2001@columbia.edu
Dana Pillai is a Research Coordinator at Columbia University’s Earth Institute where he supports the Millennium Villages Project as the Geographic Information Systems Coordinator. He has an undergraduate degree in History and Environmental Policy from Hunter College and a Masters’ in International Affairs with a focus in economic policy at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
Julie Rozenberg,
CAES intern, (Summer 2008)
julie.rozenberg@gmail.com
Julie visited during summer 2008 from a French engineering school (ENSTA) and she works on the possibilities for solar energy storage in Africa. More specifically, she is looking for geological sites which could be suitable for compressed air energy storage.
Jeff Shrader, Researcher,
Rural Electrification (2007-2008)
jgs2103@columbia.edu
As an undergraduate, Jeff analyzed energy and socioeconomic data from the Millennium Villages Project (MVP). The primary goals of the research were, first, to characterize the current energy use patterns among villagers and, second, to estimate future energy use and fuel preferences based on expected changes to income and energy costs. Jeff also assisted with data cleaning and management for the MVP.
Nathan Stodola, Researcher
nbs2115@columbia.edu Solar Concentration
Nathan Stodola completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at Union College and has worked for two years at the cryogenics company Clever Fellows Innovations Consortium. At Columbia, he has worked on linear tracking mechanisms for concentrated photovoltaic systems, and is currently investigating the correlation in the timing of solar energy and dispatchable power.
Victor Vazquez, Researcher,
India Water Project
vv2158@columbia.edu
Victor Vazquez holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Universidad de la Coruña (Spain). He is now a Master of International Affairs student specialized in Economic and Political Development and Environmental Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). He had a summer 2008 internship in Blantyre (Malawi) doing research on water and sanitation in the urban area for the Millennium Cities Initiative. Previous experience with Engineers Without Borders in rural water and sanitation projects in Central America.
Jiang Zhe, Researcher
jzhe@uakron.edu
Jiang Zhe is currently an associate professor and the director of MEMS Lab of the Mechanical Engineering Department at The University of Akron. His research focus includes micro and nano scale biosensors, novel micro/nano actuators, microfluidic devices, smart materials and structures. His research was sponsored by NSF, NASA, Navy and by Ohio Third Front state government and industries.
Link to Prof. Zhe’s website
Alex Zvoleff, Researcher
Rural Electrification (2007-2008)
zvoleff@rohan.sdsu.edu
Alex Zvoleff has completed a BS in Earth Sciences from the University of California, San Diego, and an MA in Climate and Society from Columbia University. His research focused on developing techniques to aid in planning cost-effective rural energy networks, using spatial optimization and GIS. Currently he is a PhD student in the joint program in geography at San Diego State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
