I am an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo specializing in data-science and decision-making under uncertainty to tackle high-impact engineering challenges in effort to do my small part in making the world a better place to live. I have conducted academic research and teaching over the past 10 years across a variety of instituions. To date, my accomplishments include 14 completed scholarly publications, 1 patent, 5 software products, contributing to proposals totaling $698K in funding, 33+ presentations/seminars, teaching 6 courses, and my network of 31+ collaborators in academia, national laboratories, and industry.
Education
- Postdoc in Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (2022-2023)
Advisors: Professors Carl Laird and Ignacio Grossmann - Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA (2017-2022)
Advisor: Professor Victor Zavala - B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA (2012-2017)
Advisor: Professor John Hedengren
Research Experience
- Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada (2023-Present)
- Post-Doctoral Associate, Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (2022-2023)
- Graduate Research Assistant, Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA (2017-2022)
- Intern, Differentiating Technologies, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering, Spring, TX, USA (2020)
- Intern, Optimization and Control, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA (2019)
- Undergraduate Research Assistant, Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA (2013-2017)
Research Interests
Please see my research page for a detailed overview of my research vision and activities. Common focus areas are listed below:
- Decision-making under uncertainty (stochastic optimization, random field optimization, etc.)
- Data-science (neural operators, convolutional neural networks, etc.)
- Infinite-dimensional optimization (i.e., InfiniteOpt)
- Advanced control
- Computer vision for process control
- Wildfire mitigation
- Energy systems
Teaching
Please visit my my teaching page for more information on my teaching experience and philosophy. For completeness, the courses I have taught are listed below:
- Process control
- Chemical process modeling
- Organic chemistry
- Introduction to Julia, JuMP.jl, and InfiniteOpt.jl
Awards
- Travel Award, Foundations of Computer Aided Process Operations / Chemical Process Control (2023)
- Plenary Speaker, Computing & Systems Technology Division Plenary Session of the AICHE Annual Meeting (2022)
- Undergraduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation (2016)
- Full Academic Scholarship, Brigham Young University (2013 – 2017)
- Academic Scholarship, Brigham Young University Chemical Engineering Department (2012)
- Masonic Academic Achievement Scholarship, Yakima Masonic Lodge (2012))
- Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America (2012)
- President’s List, Yakima Valley Community College (2011 – 2012)
Publications
Please visit the publication page.
Select Presentations/Seminars
- "Stochastic Programming Inspired Modeling Techniques for Shaping Dynamic Trajectories", IEEE TC Process Control Online Seminar Series, Online (2023)
- "Optimization under Uncertainty: From Data to Models to Decision-Making", University of South Florida Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering Department Seminar, Tampa, FL (2023)
- "Optimization under Uncertainty: From Data to Models to Decision-Making", Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Chemical and Biological Engineering Department Seminar, Troy, NY (2023)
- "Optimization under Uncertainty: From Data to Models to Decision-Making", University of Waterloo Chemical Engineering Department Seminar, Waterloo, Canada (2023)
- "An Introduction to Process Systems Engineering with Applications in Energy and Disease Control", University International Seminar at Universidad Nacional Micaela Bastidas de Apurímac, Apurímac, Peru (2022)
- "Event Constrained Optimization", The American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AICHE) Annual Meeting. Computing & Systems Technology Division Plenary, Phoenix, AZ, USA (2022)
- "Modeling Infinite-Dimensional Optimization Problems with InfiniteOpt.jl", UW-Madison Chemical and Biological Engineering Computational Seminar Series, Madison, WI, USA (2022)