Research

My research focuses on the application of complex systems methods, in particular agent-based modeling and network analysis, to problems of climate change resilience and adaptation, in particular in the Nile Basin of East Africa.  Below are descriptions of projects I am currently working on; for information about specific publications, see my CV.

DREAM

The Distributed Renewable Energy-Agriculture Modalities (DREAM) project involves the provision of solar mini-grid powered irrigation to several villages in rural Ethiopia.  Two waves of a household survey have been conducted at these sites and several others, as well as a network survey that I was responsible for designing and implementing.  More information about this work can be found here, on the website of the James E. Rogers Energy Access Project.  You can see me helping to test the network survey along with one of our fantastic enumerators below.

Measuring Fragility in South Sudan

In 2025 I joined a team at Duke that is working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to study the multidimensional aspects of fragility in South Sudan.  The project has involved multiple household surveys, including questions on climate change perceptions and environmental risks.  I helped with a draft report for this project and plan on incorporating the data into my dissertation, alongside data from the DREAM project (see above).

Impacts of Nickel Mining in Indonesia

In the summer of 2026 I will be traveling to Indonesia with Prof. Puyang Li of Duke Kunshan University to study the impacts of Chinese nickel mining operations on the island of Sulawesi.  Nickel is a critical mineral used in the design of clean energy products, so this work relates directly to my research on electricity usage and the energy transition in developing countries (see below)  The project attempts to examine both the ecological impacts of mining, for example on land cover and water quality, as well as the livelihood impacts for local people, many of whom are farmers.  Similar to my work in Ethiopia, I will be helping to conduct a survey of local people, and plan to use the results to better understand how the people of Sulawesi are adapting not only to the effects of nickel mining operations, but also climate change and the energy transition more broadly.  More updates to come.

Agent-Based Models

I am currently working with a group of statisticians led by Professor Simon Mak in the Duke University Department of Statistics to develop better methods to analyze the output of agent-based models.  Our work focuses on the application of policy optimization and tuning problems to these models, which can help to capture non-equilibrium system properties and complex behaviors better than traditional, closed-form mathematical models.

On the empirical side, I am working with a team of researchers from Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill to build an agent-based model of energy choice in rural Ethiopia, using our DREAM data as well as data from the World Bank.  The model includes a network component as well as an economic choice module.  The idea is to be able to use the model to examine the impacts of different national electrification policies on the uptake of traditional and other sources of energy, thus providing information about how the energy transition may be proceeding in Ethiopia, as well as how electricity access can be efficiently expanded to more of the rural population there.