Graduate Students
Panagiotis Papageorgiou is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student, co-advised by Prof. Jie Cai. Panagiotis received his five-year Integrated Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with an “Excellent” grade from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. His research focuses on pursuing interdisciplinary solutions to combat the energy challenges of recent times. After graduating, he hopes to contribute to the sustainable transformation of the energy sector. In his free time, he plays tennis, enjoys online gaming and likes to read about history and astrophysics. Panagiotis received an Onassis Foundation Scholarship to support his graduate studies. He joined the group in the fall of 2024.
Alex Lee is a Mechanical Engineering MS student. He received his BS in Civil Engineering and Computer Science from Purdue in 2024. While he is still very much new in his research career, his research interests lie mainly in smart building controls through machine learning and optimization algorithms and he dreams of designing smart cities one day. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies and listening to music, as well as going to the gym and playing soccer with his fellow teammates from Herrick Labs. Alex joined the group in the summer of 2023.
Aaron Farha is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student, co-advised by Prof. Eckhard Groll. Aaron received his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue in 2022 and 2023 respectively. His research focuses on the development of advanced heat pumping cycles integrating thermal storage and their application within residential buildings. In his free time, Aaron enjoys reading, playing video games, and getting into shenanigans with his roommates. Aaron joined the group in the fall of 2023.
Arash Khabbazi is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student. He holds a master’s degree from The University of British Columbia and a bachelor’s with the highest distinction from the University of Tabriz, both in Mechanical Engineering. His research centers on machine learning, optimization, and control algorithms for heating and cooling systems in commercial buildings. In his spare time, he enjoys the gym, swimming, and surfing the net. Arash’s previous research was aligned with Canada’s “Net-Zero Emissions by 2050” initiative and received accolades, including the Best Presentation Award at CSME 2022 and the Best Paper Award at CSME 2023. Arash joined the group in the fall of 2023.
Levi Reyes Premer is a Mechanical Engineering MS student, co-advised by Prof. Davide Ziviani. Levi received his BS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Mexico in 2023. His research focuses on applying advanced control strategies to HVAC and microgrid systems in residential communities to enhance home resiliency and the robustness of the municipal grid. Levi enjoys spending time outdoors, whether it’s hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, snowboarding, or surfing when he’s back home in California. Levi joined the group in the summer of 2023.
Nadah Al Theeb is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student. She earned her BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering and her MSc degree in Industrial Engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology. Nadah is interested in heat pump systems and their interaction with buildings, electrification activities, and integrating clean energy sources with the electric grid. She is currently working on improving thermal comfort from air-source heat pumps by modifying equipment and controls. Nadah enjoys cooking, watching movies, and volunteering in community projects in her free time. Nadah joined the group in the spring of 2023.
Priyadarshan is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student. His research focuses on smart electrification and sustainable buildings. He loves biryani and is enthusiastic about cricket. He received his undergraduate degree from Manipal Institute of Technology, India and masters from Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, India. Priyadarshan joined the group in the fall of 2022.
Elias Nikolaos Pergantis is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student, co-advised by Prof. Davide Ziviani. Elias’ research focuses on control systems for residential buildings with the aim of reducing utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions. In his free time, Elias is an avid book reader, plays the saxophone and likes to watch artsy movies. He received his undergraduate Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Bristol with First Class Honors. His previous research experience involves advanced thermodynamics, nanoscale heat transfer as well as computational fluid dynamics with a focus on wind turbines and biofluids. He received an Onassis Foundation Scholarship for his work on sustainable buildings. Elias joined the group in the fall of 2022.
Undergraduates
Andrew Beck is a junior in Mechanical Engineering. He is from Collegeville, Pennsylvania and is very interested in thermal and fluid sciences. He hopes to use his knowledge for development in sustainability and efficiency in transportation systems. He currently works on electric vehicle integration into the DC Nanogrid House. In his free time, he enjoys going to the gym and playing golf. Andrew joined the group in the spring of 2024.
Aadit Kumar is a junior in Mechanical Engineering and Economics. He is from Hyderabad, India and is very interested in sustainable engineering and using the skills he learns to make the world more equitable for everyone. His current work analyzes Purdue’s Northwest Chiller Plant to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and save energy. In his free time, Aadit likes karaoke, basketball, reading, and exploring places nearby. Aadit joined the group in the fall of 2023.
Liam Johnson is a senior in Mechanical Engineering. Their research focuses on introducing energy savings to residential buildings by analyzing and displaying household performance data. Liam enjoys listening to music, collecting records, playing basketball, and biking in their free time. Post graduation, they plan on pursuing a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Liam joined the group in the fall of 2023.
Jude Lin is a senior in Mechanical Engineering. He is focusing on creating a dashboard to present accurate energy use data of the DC House and future predictions. His hobbies outside of engineering are art, fashion, and sculpting. After graduation, he is looking for work in the energy or robotics field. Jude joined the group in the spring of 2023.
Alumni
Celecia Blyden is a Professional Masters student in Mechanical Engineering. She received her BS in Mechanical Engineering at Howard University in 2021. Her research in the summer of 2024 focused on tying behavioral economics and persuasive design into user interface development for smart home energy management systems to promote energy saving behavior. Celecia enjoys learning languages, watching dramas, taekwondo and traveling. She aspires to work abroad. After graduating, she will return to work at Whirlpool Corporation.
Sophia Evers is a Nuclear Engineering senior. Her research interests pertain to renewable energy integration, the optimization of current nonrenewable energy systems/sources, and the integration of nuclear power in a diverse range of applications. Sophia enjoys cooking and golfing. She is also a member of Purdue Solar Racing and Women In Nuclear. After graduating, Sophia hopes to pursue graduate studies in Mechanical Engineering. Sophia worked in the group from the fall of 2023 through the summer of 2024.
Justin Chang is a senior studying Mechanical Engineering. He is from Taiwan and has research experience with a small-scale wind tunnel from an exchange year in Germany. Relatively new to his research career, he is interested in thermal control. In the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024, Justin worked with Purdue’s Northwest Chiller Plant, aimed to increase cooling capacity and reduce cost. In his free time, Justin has a particular interest in music performance and his personal projects. After graduating, he plans on pursuing a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering specializing in control.
Jacob Aldridge is a senior in Computer Science who worked in the group from the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024. He developed an interactive home energy dashboard that balances comfort versus utility bill savings. In his free time, Jacob likes gaming, drawing, music production, or writing fantasy stories.
Brendan Corban worked in the group from the fall of 2023 until he graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering in May, 2024. His research focused on modeling and optimizing the Northwest Chiller Plant on Purdue’s campus. In his free time, he enjoys spending time in the mountains snowboarding in the winter and hiking in the summer. After graduating, Brendan joined Siemens as a building automation engineer.