Theses

TPP student research spans many domains, but shares methodologies and goals. Examples of award-winning theses and noteworthy research projects are shared here. We also maintain a public database of all TPP thesis titles, with links to web publications where available.

Award-Winning Theses and Student Research Stories

2024 Thesis Prize Winners

• Michael Giovanniello; “Modeling and Implementation of the U.S. Hydrogen Production Credit” (2024). Advisor(s): Dharik Mallapragada; Ruaridh Macdonald.
• Kailin Graham; “Doing the Dirty Work: Employment vulnerability to the energy transition implications for climate policy and politics” (2024). Advisor(s): Christopher R. Knittel.

2023 Thesis Prize Winner

• Maja Svanberg; “The Economic Advantage of Computer Vision Over Human Labor, and Its Market Implications” (2023). Advisor(s): Neil Thompson.

2022 Thesis Prize Winners

• Farri T. Gaba; “Solutions to the Generalized UAV Delivery Routing Problem for Last-Mile Delivery with Societal Constraints” (2022). Advisor(s): Matthias Winkenbach
• Jonathan Garrett Novak; “Policy and Design Courses of Action to Improve Resilience of Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Constellations Against Adverse Solar Weather” (2022). Advisor(s): Daniel E Hastings.
• Aaron Matthew Schwartz; “The Role of Natural Gas in Future Low-Carbon Energy Systems” (2022). Advisor(s): Dharik S Mallapragada.

2021 Thesis Prize Winner

Karan Bhuwalka, recent TPP alum who won best thesis in 2021, reflects on TPP’s interdisciplinary approach and bringing data science, manufacturing, and social issues together in his research on the materials that make up electric vehicles.

• Assessing the Socio-Economic Risks in Electric Vehicle Supply Chains (Thesis)
• Characterizing the Changes in Material Use due to Vehicle Electrification (Environmental Science & Technology, Jul 2021)

Do native ads shape our perception of the news?: Manon Revel

Often masquerading as legitimate news, so-called “native” ads, pushed by content recommendation networks, have brought badly needed revenue to the struggling U.S. news industry. But at what cost? TPP alum Manon Revel is now a PhD student in the IDSS Social and Engineering Systems PhD program. Her TPP thesis advisor was Prof. Ali Jadbabaie.

• Combining AI with passions (MIT News, March 2019)

Health Savings of Renewable Energy: Emil Dimanchev

Research from TPP alum Emil Dimanchev, who won TPP’s best thesis award in 2019, found that health savings from cleaner air would more than pay for the cost of implementing renewable energy policies. His thesis was advised by TPP director Noelle Selin.

• Shift to renewable electricity a win-win at statewide level (MIT News, Aug 2019)

Thesis Database

Thesis Titles, 1977 to 2015

• Zachary Accuardi; “Resource Use in the Chinese Building Sector: Foundations for Analyzing Urban Transition;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (John E. Fernandez)
• Abdulla AlMisnad; “Desalination Under Uncertainty: Understanding the Role of Contractual Arrangements on the Adoption of Flexibility;” SM, 2014 (02/01/2014) (Richard De Neufville)
• Alex Breckel; “Regulating Electricity and Natural Gas in Peru: Solutions for a Sustainable Energy Sector;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Jose Ignacio Perez- Arriaga)
• Samuel Brinton; “Used Nuclear Fuel Storage Options Including Implications of Small Modular Reactors;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Ronald G Ballinger)
• Matthew Bruchon; “Operational Impacts of Responsive Electricity Loads: A Modeling Framework Including Policy Implications for Cyprus;” SM, 2014 (09/01/2013) (Stephen Connors)
• Franco Felipe Chingcuanco; “Congestion Pricing: Policy Dimensions, Public Rejection and Impacts;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Frederick P Salvucci, Frederick P Salvucci)
• Michael Craig; “Reducing the Contribution of the Power Sector to Peak Concentrations of Ground-Level Ozone: An Assessment of Time-Differentiated Pricing of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Mort D. Webster)
• Daniel Cross-Call; “Matching Energy Storage to Small Island Electricity Systems: A Case Study of the Azores;” SM, 2014 (09/01/2013) (Stephen Connors)
• Michael Davidson; “Regulatory and Technical Barriers to Wind Energy Integration in Northeast China;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Valerie J Karplus)
• Chidube Ezeozue; “Large-Scale Consensus Clustering and Data Ownership Considerations for Medical Applications;” SM, 2014 (09/01/2013) (Una-May O'Reilly)
• Jordan Foley; “Strategy for International Cooperation in Planning the Chinese Space Station;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Scott A Uebelhart)
• Rodrigo Garcia Palma; “Dynamic Capabilities in Related Diversification: The Case of Geothermal Technology Development by Oil Companies;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Donald R Lessard)
• Roi Guinto; “Serious Games for Improved Defense Contracting;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Olivier de Weck)
• Mohibi Hussain; “Collaborative Innovation & User Experience Control - Strategies for Monetization of Quality of Service (QoS) of Data by Cellular Operators;” SM, 2014 (09/01/2013) (David Clark)
• Jesse Jenkins; “Economic Regulation of Electricity Distribution Utilities Under High Penetration of Distributed Energy Resources: Applying an Incentive Compatible Menu of Contracts, Reference Network Model, and Uncertainty Mechanisms;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Jose Ignacio Perez- Arriaga)
• Sandra Jenkins; “Interdependency of Electricity and Natural Gas Markets in the United States: A Dynamic Computational Model;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Anuradha Annaswamy)
• Brandon Karlow; “Programmatic Engineering: Strategic and Cognitive Considerations for the Engineering of Space Systems;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Dava J Newman)
• Ohchan Kwon; “Bridging the Innovation Gap Through Funding: The Case of MIT Deshpande Center;” SM, 2014 (09/01/2013) (Charles L Cooney)
• Leebong Lee; “Sustainability Standards for Biofuels: Analyses of the Current Standards and Recommendations on the Future Direction;” SM, 2014 (02/01/2014) (Nazli Choucri)
• Tal Levy; “Unexpected Consequences of Demand Response: Implications for Energy and Capacity Price Level and Volatility;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Mort D. Webster)
• Shlomiya Lightfoot; “Uncertainty in Synthetic Biology for Release and Possibilities for Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act;” SM, 2014 (02/01/2014) (Kenneth A Oye)
• Tingyu Liu; “Multi-Stakeholder Collaborations & Biomarker Development and Implementation;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Paula Hirsch)
• Stephen Maouyo; “Product Design Team Interactions and Peer Feedback as Indicators of Team Success;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Maria Yang)
• Julie McNamara; “Bridging Gaps in Synthetic Biology Oversight: iGEM as a Testbed for Proactive, Adaptive Risk Management;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Kenneth A Oye)
• Jeffrey Mekler; “CrowdConcept: Assessing the Crowd's Creative Capcity;” SM, 2014 (02/01/2014) (David Wallace)
• Julia Moline; “Data-Driven Resource Allocation Decisions: FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Centers;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Jarrod Goentzel)
• Iori Mori; “Cross-Border Barriers to the Development of HSR Projects: Analysis of the Singapore- Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail Link;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Joseph M Sussman)
• Jonathan Paynter; “Optimized Border Interdiction;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Dimitris J Bertsimas)
• Bilhuda Rasheed; “Impact Assessment of Hydroclimatic Change in the Indus Basin;” SM, 2014 (09/01/2013) (Courtney Adam Schlosser)
• Lynn Reis; “An Exploration of Materials Taxonomies to Support Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment;” SM, 2014 (09/01/2013) (Randolph Kirchain)
• Nicola Ricci; “Dynamic System Perspective for Design: Ility-Driving Elements as Responses to Uncertainty;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Daniel E Hastings)
• Amanda Rohrbach; “Implementing Technical Transitions Through Schedule-Based Policy: Insights from the Military's Airborne Tactical Network;” SM, 2014 (09/01/2013) (Zoe Szajnfarber)
• Nina Schuchman; “Environmental and Economic Tradeoffs in Building Materials Production in India;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Randolph Kirchain)
• Mohit Singh; “Assessment Methodology for Proliferation Resistant Fast Breeder Reactor;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Ju Li)
• Tessa Skot; “Value Chain Dynamics and Evolving Consumer Demographics in the American Television Industry;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Charles H Fine)
• Marcus Shihong Wu; “Design for Affordability in Defense and Aerospace Systems Using Tradespace-Based Methods;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Donna Rhodes)
• Yi Xue; “STEM Crisis or STEM Surplus?;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Richard C Larson)
• Arthur HongChun Yip; “Modelling the Global Prospects and Impacts of Heavy Duty Liquefied Natural Gas Vehicles in Computable General Equilibrium;” SM, 2014 (06/01/2014) (Sergey Paltsev)