Research Group

Min Soo Choi
I am a PhD student in School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Management Engineering in 2016 from Korea University, Korea. My research interests are in data analytics and statistical machine learning. I completed my Master's degree in LASCI at Purdue IE. Currently, I am completing a 6-months internship at Verisk Analytics as part of the NSF INTERN program.

Kendrick Hardaway
I am a PhD student in the Ecological Sciences & Engineering interdisciplinary graduate program and the Dept. of Environmental & Ecological Engineering. In 2018, I graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in Biological Engineering. My current research is to use agent-based and predictive models to determine the long-term social and environmental effects of autonomous vehicles. When not working on research, I am normally playing a sport (basketball, soccer, or volleyball most likely), slack lining, reading, volunteering, or playing a board game.

Steve (Seung Ho) Woo
I am a Ph.D. student in the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. In 2021, I earned my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Industrial and Operations Engineering with higher honors from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. My research objective includes data science and predictive analytics based on Machine Learning and Deep Learning. I wish I could apply my meaningful approach towards statistical and computational analysis to enhance the progress of various future predictive data fields.

Kanaan Hardaway
I am a PhD student in the Environmental & Ecological Engineering and Interdisciplinary Ecological Sciences & Engineering Programs working with Drs. Nateghi (IE) and Brady Hardiman (FNR/EEE). I completed a B.S. of Biological Engineering at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 2020. I am interested in leveraging machine learning techniques to understand how urban ecological systems, such as urban trees and green infrastructure, contribute to the resilience of cities, especially under climate transitions.

Jenny Anderson
Undergraduate Researcher
I am a senior studying Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. My research interests include data analysis and machine learning especially for applications in environmental sustainability and public health. In my free time, I enjoy working on my comic book and taking walks.

Maria A Galiana
Undergraduate Researcher
Originally from Madrid, Spain, I am a junior studying Industrial Engineering and minoring in Economics. My research interests include Data Analysis and I am currently collaborating with the Department of Ecological and Environmental Engineering on a project to analyze the comprehensive data set of environmental quality and public health indicators, and to explore the long-term, large-scale health of the planet and the link to human health.

Jessica Knee
Undergraduate Researcher
I am a junior studying Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. My research interests include data analysis, and I am currently working with PhD student Renee Obringer on her water-energy-climate nexus project using multivariate statistical models. In addition to research, I am the Secretary for Alpha Pi Mu, Purdue's chapter of the National Industrial Engineering Honor Society, and I am the Vice President of Purdue's Disney Appreciation Club.

Negin Alemazkoor
Assistant Professor, Department of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Virginia
I completed my postdoctoral fellowship in the Purdue School of Industrial Engineering. I earned my PhD in Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I received my Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, and my Master's in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. My current research mainly concerns developing computational tools for fast and reliable analysis of smart and resilient infrastructure systems with a focus on power and transportation systems.

Renee Obringer
Assistant Professor, Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State University 
I completed my PhD degree in the Ecological Sciences & Engineering interdisciplinary graduate program and the Dept. of Environmental & Ecological Engineering. My research focuses on modeling the urban water-energy-climate nexus using multivariate statistical models. Ultimately, I would like to use my model to promote water sustainability in urban areas. I graduated from Ohio State University with a BS in Environmental Engineering in 2015. Outside of research, I enjoy reading novels, exploring new cities and spending as much time as possible by the ocean.

Sayanti Mukherjee
Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Buffalo
I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Buffalo. Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, jointly affiliated as a Visiting Scholar with the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. My research interests are centered on developing algorithms and risk-informed decision models to investigate the complex interplay between the human and socio-technical systems under the influence of various external stressors. My current research projects focus on modeling the complex climate-energy demand nexus and studying the climatic shocks to the electric power grid, with a broader objective to ensure a resilient and sustainable energy infrastructure systems.

Benjamin Rachunok
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford University
I got my PhD degree in Purdue School of Industrial Engineering. My current research interests revolve around using mathematical and statistical models to aid in the development of sustainable critical infrastructure. Originally from North Carolina, I graduated with a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from North Carolina State University in 2016. While at NCSU, my research focused on the use of alternative transportation in emergency medicine. While not in school, I am an avid runner and rock climber.

Deb Maia Silva
Associate Principle Data Scientist, Capital One
I completed my PhD in Environmental and Ecological Engineering Department. I graduated from the University of Campinas, Brazil, in 2016, and worked as a civil engineer from 2014 to 2016. Research interests are Data Analysis and Predictive Modeling. When not buried under giant databases, I will probably be orbiting around a ball at CoRec as the big sports fan I am.

Jackson Bennett
Data Scientist, DAI
Prior to joining DAI I was a Fulbright Scholar through the U.S. Department of State, based at the Université Hassan II de Casablanca Faculté des Sciences Ben M'Sick. I graduated from Purdue in 2019 with a M.S. in Industrial Engineering through the Ecological Sciences and Engineering interdisciplinary graduate program and in 2018 with a B.S. in Environmental and Ecological Engineering. My research interests lie in using tools from statistical learning to work on environmental problem in climate change, resource management, and urban planning. Outside of lab, I spend as much time as I can traveling around the world to get better at whitewater kayaking and rock climbing.

Aiyshwariya Paulvannan Kanmani 
Senrior Data Scientist, American Airlines
I earned my Bachelor's degree in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering with a minor in Operations Research from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, in 2017, and my Master's degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University in 2019. My areas of interest include data science, statistical machine learning and operations research. Currently, I work as an internal consultant in the Operations Research and Advanced Analytics team at American Airlines focused on leveraging machine learning tools to solve airlines issues.

Akhil Muralidharan
Data Scientist, Paypal
I earned my Bachelor's of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering (2015) from the Vellore Institute of Technology in Chennai, India, and my Master's degree in Industrial Engineering (2017) from Purdue University. My areas of interest include data analytics, predictive modeling, decision science and operations research. I see myself solving challenging business problems making use of insights gained from data and helping improve the decision making process of the organization I am associated with. Currently I'm a Finance & Planning Analyst at J.P Morgan Chase & Co.

Ellen Wongso
Data Scientist, Lineage Logistics
I graduated with a Master's degree from the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue, after earning my Bachelor's at Purdue in Mathematics and Computer Science. My research interests are in data analytics and statistical machine learning. During my Mater's degree, I worked on various projects, including predictive analytics of residential energy consumption, characterizing the water footprint in the U.S., and modeling the energy-water demand nexus in the residential sector. I am currently a data scientist at Lineage Logistics.