Graduate Student of the Month

Charles’ research focuses on sustainable design through thermal efficiency within structural building materials, specifically, creating sustainable design options using concrete’s effective thermal mass with the goal of reducing energy consumption in the completed building. Charles is from Overland Park, Kansas, and his hobbies include golfing, fishing and being outdoors. His favorite food is tacos, and his top bucket list item is to travel the world.

Barretto’s research focuses on bio-based adhesives and composites, specifically, employing various chemical modification and protein crosslinking techniques to harness the inherent properties of hemp proteins to create environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional adhesives and composites. Barretto is from Camarines Norte, Philippines, and his hobbies include camping, hiking and traveling. His favorite foods are crabs and lobsters, and his top bucket list item is to jump at the world’s highest bungee jump.

Veloz Marmolejo’s research focuses on multiscale modeling frameworks and reduced-order models for process control and real-time decision-making for particulate polysilicon reactor systems with the goal of enhancing operational efficiency of fluidized bed reactor systems and reduced production costs associated with solar-grade silicon. Veloz Marmolejo is from Ecuador, and his hobbies include soccer, going to the gym and playing chess. His favorite food is encebollado, and his top bucket list items are to travel to Europe, visit the Galapagos Islands with his family and participate in a chess tournament.

Williams’ research focuses on wastewater treatment and resource recovery, specifically, energy optimization of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating real swine wastewater. Instead of using models, he operates a physical system to collect operational and performance data with the goal of determining how energy/cost inputs into the system can be minimized while preserving energy production, treatment capacity and operability. Williams is from Independence, Missouri, and his hobbies include playing and running Dungeons and Dragons, trawling Spotify, writing, messing around in Excel, watching movies and shows, and practicing viola. His favorite food is sushi, and his bucket list includes visiting Japan, Czech Republic, Nigeria, Kenya and Jamaica.

Atkinson’s research focuses on creating computer simulations of the erosion and collapse of earthen embankments such as levees and dams. These simulations are used to further study the conditions surrounding failure events. Atkinson is from Arizona, and his hobbies include casual programming and traditional and digital art. His favorite food is sandwiches, and his top bucket list item is to go on a long-term backpacking trip.

Nematirad’s research focuses on developing novel statistical frameworks for optimal sizing of grid-connected photovoltaic battery systems and leveraging smart meter data for enhance situational awareness of power distribution systems. Nematirad is from Iran, and his hobbies include calisthenics and cooking. His favorite foods are dizi and kabab kobideh, and his top bucket list item is to become a successful entrepreneur.

Thimmesch’s research focuses on performing computational experiments to assess the performance of bin packing as a heuristic approach for determining the least cost coalition structure in non-subadditive games present in humanitarian logistics. Thimmesch is from Lawrence, Kansas, and his hobbies include traveling, board games and spending time with his pets. His favorite food is carbonara, and his top bucket list item is follow his favorite artist from show to show for an entire tour.

Pakkebier’s research revolves around current problems in the food, energy and water nexus, studying the effects of heterogeneous or 'mixed' wettability on evaporation mechanics to potentially help mitigate the ongoing depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer. He is also investigating the viability of using nuclear microreactor process heat to power a variety of bioconversion and agricultural processes. Pakkebier is from Prairie View, Kansas, and his hobbies include Olympic weightlifting and playing chess. His favorite food is pumpkin pie, and his top bucket list item is to gain fluency in Japanese