Our Team

Catherine (Lindsay) Anderson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological & Environmental Engineering at Cornell. Her research focuses on energy system decarbonization, at the interface of environmental and systems engineering, electric power systems, applied optimization and decision science. She is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Senior Fellow of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainabilty. Lindsay also serves as the interim Director of the Cornell Energy Systems Institute, and was previously the Kathy Dwyer Marble and Curt Marble Faculty Director for Energy with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Dr. Anderson received a B.Sc.(Engineering) and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from University of Guelph (Canada) and Ph.D in Applied Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario (Canada)

Elnaz is a Post-Doctoral Associate in the Biological and Environmental Engineering Department, working jointly with Profs. Lindsay Anderson, Scott Steinschneider, and Vivek Srikrishnan. Before joining Cornell, Elnaz received her Ph.D. degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering and her Master’s degree in Statistics, both from the University of Michigan. Her research interest lies at the intersection of data and risk analytics, machine learning, and applied optimization. In particular, she develops data-driven frameworks under uncertainty for predictive and prescriptive analytics to solve real-world problems related to power system resiliency. Currently, her focus is on power system decarbonization and the risks arising from large-scale renewable energy integration.

Alonso is a Ph.D. student in Biological and Environmental Engineering and a Fulbright scholar. Before arriving to Cornell, he worked on rural electrification projects in Latin America. His research focuses on finding ways to improve access to electricity policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. He holds a M.Sc. in Sustainable Energy Development from the University of Calgary and Bachelor’s degree in Electro-mechanical Engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica. In his free time, he enjoys to play tennis, be in nature, and karaoke.

Vivienne is a Ph.D student in Systems Engineering. Prior to joining Cornell, she got her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Information Engineering from Tianjin University and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. She is broadly interested in the area of control and optimization of smart grids with renewable energy integration and her current work focuses on using multi-objective simulation-based optimization methods to help inform policies on the management of microgrids energy systems.

Shriya is a Ph.D. student at the Center for Applied Mathematics. Prior to joining Cornell, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Trinity College. Her research leverages tools from complex networks and dynamical systems to study properties that underpin networks of coupled phase-oscillators. Outside of research, she is passionate about teaching, and has received graduate teaching awards from both the Department of Mathematics (2020) and the Department of Computer Science (2021) at Cornell University.

Tayler is a Ph.D. student at the Center for Applied Mathematics. Prior to joining Cornell, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Northeastern University and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Mathematics from Smith College. Her research interest broadly lies at the intersection of graph theory and optimization in complex networks with applications to power systems and other infrastructure networks. Outside of research, Tayler enjoys singing, running, and powerlifting.

Gerald is a Ph.D. student in the department of Systems Engineering. He hold’s a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. His research interest is in the area of distributed control and optimization of power systems with significant share of renewable generation. Outside research, Gerald enjoys playing soccer and cycling.

Shikhar joined Ph.D. in Systems Engineering at Cornell University after 2.5 years of work experience in the energy industry. Prior to this, he completed his master’s degree in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University, and bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Jaypee University, India. He has multidisciplinary interest. In Anderson Research Group, Shikhar is working in the field of System Optimization based on Behavioral Economics in the Energy Transmission and Distribution Sector. Apart from his academic life, on weekends he enjoys hiking and exploring nature, and in the evening, he finds joy in running, swimming and badminton.