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

• Angela Acocella; “System Model of Small-Scale Gas-to-Methanol Conversion by Engine Reformers;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Daniel R Cohn)
• Stacey Allen; “Evaluating Readiness for Technology in Schools: Planning Tools and Critical Metrics to Prepare for 1:1 Programs;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Eric Klopfer)
• Maria Angarita Fonseca; “Electrolytic Extraction of a Metal from Its Metal Compound: Estimates of Optimal Energy Requirements and their Consequences;” SM, 2015 (02/01/2015) (Antoine Allanore)
• Hisham Bedri; “Computational Imaging and the Fourth Amendment;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Ramesh Raskar)
• Ashwini Bharatkumar; “Distribution Network Use-of-System Charges Under High Penetration of Distributed Energy Resources;” SM, 2015 (02/01/2015) (Jose Ignacio Perez- Arriaga)
• Yael Borofsky; “Towards a Transdisciplinary Approach to Rural Electrification Planning for Universal Access in India;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Jose Ignacio Perez- Arriaga)
• Corinne Carland; “Evaluating Incentives and Priorities of Private Sector Supply Chain Agents to Scale up Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Malaria in Uganda;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Jarrod Goentzel)
• Michael Chang; “Performance Targets for Electric Vehicle Batteries;” SM, 2015 (02/01/2015) (Jessika Trancik)
• Victoria Clark; “An Analysis of How Climate Policies and the Threat of Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets Incentivize CCS Deployment;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Howard Herzog)
• Yichen Du; “How Electricity Tariff Impacts the Attractiveness of Gas Fired Distributed Cogeneration Technologies;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Jose Ignacio Perez- Arriaga)
• Douglas Ellman; “The Reference Electrification Model: A Computer Model for Planning Rural Electricity Access;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Jose Ignacio Perez- Arriaga)
• Hector Fornes Martinez; “Analysis of Potential Implementations of Pushback Control at LaGuardia Airport;” SM, 2015 (02/01/2015) (Hamsa Balakrishnan)
• Michael Greco; “Riots and Sociability: A Case Study of Human Interaction Networks in Qatif, Saudi Arabia;” SM, 2015 (09/01/2014) (Carlo Ratti)
• Himani Gupta; “An Integrated Modeling and Decision Tool for Improved Drinking Water Reliability in Rural Villages of India;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Dennis Mc Laughlin)
• Nathan Lee; “The Intergenerational Ethics of Climate Change: The Failure of Cost-Benefit Analysis as a Normative Framework;” SM, 2015 (09/01/2014) (Lucas Stanczyk)
• Erin Leidy; “Modeling Landslide Frequency Response to Climate Change and Resultant Damage From Historic Event Occurrence;” SM, 2015 (09/01/2014) (Courtney Adam Schlosser)
• Yuanjian Li; “Capital Investment Decision-Making with Competitive Dynamics in the Mining Industry;” SM, 2015 (09/01/2014) (Randolph Kirchain)
• Nicholas Macfarlane; “Tagging Wild Cetaceans: Investigating the Balance Between More and Less Invasive Techniques;” SM, 2015 (02/01/2015) (Julia Westwater)
• Neha Mehta; “Water Management in Hydraulic Fracturing - A Planning and Decision Optimization Platform;” SM, 2015 (09/01/2014) (Francis M O'Sullivan)
• Daniela Miao; “PrivacyInformer: An Automated Privacy Description Generator for the MIT App Inventor;” SM, 2015 (09/01/2014) (Lalana S Kagal)
• Justin Montgomery; “Characterizing Shale Gas and Tight Oil Drilling and Production Performance Variability;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Francis M O'Sullivan)
• Joshua Mueller; “Increasing Renewable Energy System Value Through Storage;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Jessika Trancik)
• Serdar Ozcan; “Can Cable TV Network Boost Broadband Competition in Turkey? Developing Policy Implications for Turkey;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (David Clark)
• David Perlman; “Future Vehicle Types and Characteristics: Reducing Fuel Consumption Through Shifts in Vehicle Segments and Operating Characteristics;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (John B Heywood)
• Benjamin Putbrese; “Exploring Design and Policy Options for Orbital Infrastructure Projects;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Daniel E Hastings)
• Jacob Rosen; “Computer Aided Tax Evasion Policy Analysis: Partnership Calculation;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Una-May O'Reilly)
• Lauren Seelbach; “Stochastic Modeling to Allocate and Assess Disaster Response Capacity in Logistics Networks;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Jarrod Goentzel)
• Ian Tracy; “Enhancing Engine Efficiency Through Tailoring Lubricant Formulations;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Victor Wong)
• Ekenedilinna Umeike; “An Analysis of the Potential Economic Impact of Natural Gas Production in Tanzania;” SM, 2015 (09/01/2014) (Robert Stoner)
• Joshua Wolff; “Acceptance by Proxy: Analyzing Perceptions of Hydraulic Fracturing to Better Understand Public Acceptance for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (Howard Herzog)
• Biao Zhang; “Decision Analysis of Novel Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Pediatric Pneumonia: Implementation in Developing Countries with Tiered Healthcare Systems;” SM, 2015 (02/01/2015) (Stan N Finkelstein)
• Jiakun Zhao; “The Projected Pathways and Environmental Impact of China's Electrified Passenger Vehicles;” SM, 2015 (06/01/2015) (John B Heywood)