Hugo Santarém de Araújo
Ph.D. Student
Hugo finished his B.S. in Environmental Engineering at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil, in 2013. Focusing mostly on water resources, he studied the flux of GHG from hydropower reservoirs in Brazil in his internship at the Brazilian Electrical Energy Research Center (CEPEL). During his time in college, he received the Science without Borders Fellowship to study at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, in 2012. In 2015, he rejoined CEPEL full-time to work with time-series modelling for scenario generation. It was at at CEPEL that he saw firsthand the importance of energy-systems planning and developed his interests for energy issues. In the fall of 2021, Hugo joined the Mays Group at Cornell University in hopes of studying how the interplay between electricity markets and energy regulation can aid in the transition to a low-carbon economy. When not working on his research, Hugo can be found taking long walks, drinking coffee, reading, exploring Ithaca, or hanging out with friends.
Email: hsd36@cornell.edu
Kaleb Smith
Ph.D. Student
Kaleb received a B.S. in CEE from the University of Washington and an M.S. Eng. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. After graduating with his undergraduate degree, he worked for more than two years at the Washington state-based consulting engineering firm Gray & Osborne developing water and wastewater system plans and design projects and providing construction management services. At Michigan, he performed research focused on developing risk analysis methods for water distribution infrastructure and completed a broad program of study in energy infrastructure and markets. Kaleb’s research now focuses on the optimal design of electrical markets for sustainable goals such as building resilience to disruptions and decarbonizing the electrical grid. Apart from working on research and coursework, he enjoys running with Ithaca’s FLRC, reading widely, cooking wholesome meals, and volunteering at the Ithaca Science Center.
Email: ks885@cornell.edu
Han Shu
Ph.D. Student
Han received her B.Eng. degree in Electrical Engineering and Automation from Sichuan University in 2018 and her M.S. degree from Tsinghua University in 2020 with a focus on control and optimization for cyber-physical systems. Since Fall 2020, Han has been pursuing her Ph.D. degree in Mays Group. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, snowboarding, cooking, and playing Zelda.
Email: hs2226@cornell.edu.
Siva Visvesvaran
Ph.D. Student
Siva graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, and an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge. After graduating with his undergraduate degree, he worked as an Energy Management Systems Operator at Grid System Operator, Malaysia where he was tasked to ensure the reliability of SCADA, EMS, and generator interconnectivity to the Malaysian grid network. In Cambridge, his primary research was on people’s responses to different demand response programs in a simulated environment. Siva joined the Mays Group in the fall of 2022 in the hopes of studying the interplay between electricity markets and sustainable consumption of electricity. In his free time, he enjoys playing table tennis with his friends, exploring (and sometimes running) through trails, and loves tinkering with electronics.
Email: snv9@cornell.edu.
