Dr. Alexeev came to Georgia Tech at the beginning of 2008 as an assistant professor. His research background is in the area of fluid mechanics. He uses computer simulations to solve engineering problems in complex fluids, multiphase flows, fluid-structure interactions, and soft materials. As a part of his graduate research at Technion, he investigated resonance oscillations in gases and probed how periodic shock waves excited at resonance can enhance agglomeration of small airborne particles, a process which is important in air pollution control technology. He also investigated wave propagation in vibrated granular materials and its effect on fluidization of inelastic granules. During postdoctoral studies at TU Darmstadt, he examined how microstructures on heated walls can be harnessed to control thermocapillary flows in thin liquid films and to enhance heat transport in the fluid. That could be beneficial in many practical applications, especially in microgravity. At the University of Pittsburgh, he studied the motion of micrometer-sized, compliant particles on patterned substrates to develop efficient means of controlling movement of such particles in microfluidic devices. Such substrates are needed to facilitate various biological assays and tissue engineering studies dealing with individual cells.

Ben Wang is Professor Emeritus in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. In addition, Dr. Wang previously served as the Executive Director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute. 

Dr. Wang's primary research interest is in applying emerging technologies to improve manufacturing competitiveness. He specializes in process development for affordable composite materials. Dr. Wang is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the growing field of nanomaterials science. His main area of research involves a material known as "buckypaper", which has shown promise in a variety of applications, including the development of aerospace structures, improvements in energy and power efficiency, enhancements in thermal management of engineering systems, and construction of the next-generation of computer displays.

Dr. Wang served on the National Materials and Manufacturing Board (NMMB). NMMB is the principal forum at the U.S. National Academies for issues related to innovative materials and advanced manufacturing, and has oversight responsibility for National Research Council activities in these technology areas. Dr. Wang is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering.

Because of his contributions to advanced manufacturing and materials, Dr. Wang was invited to deliver a presentation to the U.S. National Research Council Review Panel in support of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2005. In 2012, he was invited to give testimony before the National Academies Committee on Manufacturing Extension Partnership. In 2012 he was invited to participate in the Roundtable on Strengthening U.S. Advanced Manufacturing in Clean Energy in the White House.

In addition to authoring or co-authoring more than 240 refereed journal papers, he is a co-author of three books: Computer-Aided Manufacturing (Prentice-Hall, 1st Edition, 2nd Edition, and 3rd Edition), Computer-Aided Process Planning (Elsevier Science Publishers), and Computer Aided Manufacturing PC Application Software (Delmar Publishers).

Dr. Wang earned his bachelor's in industrial engineering from Tunghai University in Taiwan, and his master's in industrial engineering and Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University.

Omar I. Asensio is an Associate Professor in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy and the Director of the Data Science & Policy Lab at Georgia Tech. During the 2023-2024 academic year, he was a fellow at the Institute for Business in Global Society at Harvard Business School. Professor Asensio’s research focuses on climate and electrification strategies at the intersection of technology, AI, and sustainability. He employs large-scale data, field experiments, and human-in-the-loop AI systems to address innovation challenges in energy systems, transportation, and human mobility. He contributed to the zero emission vehicles (ZEV) policy guidance for COP26 and the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Prof. Asensio is a member of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) New Voices 2021 cohort, which recognizes early- to-mid career leaders for exceptional contributions to science, engineering and medicine. He is a two-time former chair of the Natural Resource, Energy, and Environmental Policy section of APPAM, and is the recipient of the 2023 Faculty Excellence in Research Award from the Ivan Allen College. At Georgia Tech, he is a Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) Fellow and a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Data Engineering & Science (IDEaS), the Machine Learning Center, and the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI).

Professor Asensio has received multiple awards for his research, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) Emerging Scholar Award, and the Research Impact on Practice Award (RIPA) from the Academy of Management’s Organizations & the Natural Environment Division (ONE-NBS). His work has been published in leading journals such as Nature Energy, Nature Sustainability, and PNAS. 

Professor Asensio’s research and teaching have been supported by awards from the National Science Foundation, Microsoft, ESRI, the U.S. State Department’s Diplomacy Lab, and the U.S. Department of Energy. His work has informed policy advisory communications for the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the UK government, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the IndiaAI initiative. His research has been featured in popular press, including Bloomberg, Scientific American, Motor Trend, Fast Company, NPR’s All Things Considered, Yahoo! News, The Huffington Post, and the Washington Post.

Dr. Asensio serves as Associate Editor of Data & Policy journal published by Cambridge University Press. He earned his doctorate in Environmental Science & Engineering with specialties in Economics from UCLA.

Johannes Milz is an Assistant Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. His research focuses on optimization under uncertainty and optimal control of uncertain systems, with a strong emphasis on sustainability applications. By addressing large-scale optimization challenges in physics-based models under uncertainty, he aims to contribute to the development of sustainable energy systems, such as renewable tidal energy farms. Dr. Milz is also dedicated to open science; he develops reproducible numerical simulations and shares them publicly, making his results accessible to a broad group of researchers and practitioners. Prior to joining ISyE, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Technical University of Munich, where he earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics in 2021.

Steven P. French is professor of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Institute of Technology. He joined Georgia Tech in 1992 as the director of the City Planning program and served in that position until August 1999. He was the director of the Center for Geographic Information Systems from 1997 through 2011. He served as associate dean for research for the College of Architecture (now the College of Design) from July 2009 through June 2013 and dean of the College of Design from July 2013-June 2021.

French’s teaching and research activities focus on sustainable urban development, land use planning, GIS applications, and natural hazard risk assessment. In addition to his administrative assignments, Professor French has regularly taught graduate courses in land use, planning, and GIS. He has graduated six Ph.D. students and advised more than 50 Masters students in City and Regional Planning. He has also served on numerous dissertation committees in Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Public Policy.

Over the past twenty-five years, French has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than seventy research projects. He has participated in a number of National Science Foundation projects dealing with flood and earthquake hazards and was the Social Science Thrust Leader for the Mid-America Earthquake Center, an NSF Engineering Research Center. He has extensive experience in building and managing multidisciplinary teams of social scientists, architects, engineers, and scientists. French is the author or co-author of more than 25 refereed journal articles and four books. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Planning Association, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Journal of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association and Earthquake Spectra.

French holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before coming to Georgia Tech, he taught for ten years at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. In 1987-88, he served as the visiting professor of resources planning in the Civil Engineering Department at Stanford University. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and an associate member of the American Institute of Architects.

The Strategic Energy Institute and EPICenter are excited to welcome Andrea Pinabell as a 2023 External Fellow. Andrea will be working primarily with our EPICenter Director, Joe Hagerman, on the expansion of publicly-facing energy related knowledge and information, including hydrogen (with GTRI) and direct air capture of carbon dioxide (with the College of Chemical Engineering). This is primarily intended to expand the reach and opportunities across the HBCU and technical college network system (in close coordination with the EVPR’s office).

In addition, Andrea will work to explore the development and implementation of an urban design center focused on net zero low-income housing first within the English Ave corridor on Atlanta’s westside which is in early discussions with the College of Design, the award-winning GT solar decathlon team, and westside neighborhood partners including the Westside Future Fund and ANDP. All external fellows will help SEI and EPICenter bridge industry and academia in both a strategic and tactical manner to help GT have outsized impact. 

Andrea is well known on the Georgia Tech campus and has been involved in multiple activities across campus. A few highlights include:

• A member of the Strategic Energy Institute’s External Advisory Board for three years
• A member of the Ray C Anderson Center for Sustainable Business Advisory Board for four years
• Led the Swarm outreach and learnings from the Kendeda Building construction and launch highlighting the innovation coming from the construction sub partners.
• Participated in the founding and launch of the RCE Greater Atlanta
• Partner in Drawdown GA research and subsequent launch of Drawdown GA Business Compact
• Frequent speaker across campus on sustainability-related topics