concise welcomes a new researcher JULY 2026

We are excited to welcome

ROSEMARY SILVY

as a new Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering at the CONCISE Lab, Lehigh University!

Rosemary holds an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Mathematics from Mahatma Gandhi University, India. Her previous research explored graph neural networks and hybrid deep learning models, with work published in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP). At CONCISE, she will work on controller optimization and cybersecurity for water distribution systems.

We are delighted to have Rosemary on the team and look forward to her contributions. Welcome to CONCISE, Rosemary!

JOURNAL publication june 2026

This article presents an advanced model-free, data-driven control framework tested on smart water infrastructure network. The developed framework computes water pump commands directly from water network measurements, eliminating the need for physics-based hydraulic model.
For more details, access the article using this link.

DISSERTATION DEFENSE June 2026

CONGRATULATIONS TO DR. OLUWABUNMI IWAKIN

A big congratulations to Dr. Oluwabunmi Iwakin on successfully completing his Ph.D. and defending his dissertation on June 10, 2026!

Bunmi’s dissertation, “Data-Driven Methods for Optimal Planning and Management of Interconnected Critical Infrastructure Systems,” explored innovative data-driven approaches for improving the planning and management of interconnected water and energy infrastructure systems.

After completing his Ph.D. at Lehigh University, Bunmi began a new chapter at Argonne National Laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher, where he is developing efficient data-driven methods for water-energy systems.

We are excited to see where his research journey takes him next and wish him every success in this new role. Congratulations, Bunmi, and all the best from the CONCISE Lab!

DISSERTATION DEFENSE

APR 2026

CONGRATULATIONS TO DR. SASKIA PUTRI

We are delighted to congratulate CONCISE Lab member Dr. Saskia Putri on successfully defending her doctoral dissertation on April 10, 2026. Her dissertation, titled “Advancing Model Predictive Control Frameworks for Integrated Water-Energy Systems,” reflects her outstanding research contributions at the intersection of water, energy, and control systems.

Saskia was also recognized with the Best Dissertation Award from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lehigh University, a wonderful recognition of her hard work and research accomplishments.

Following her Ph.D., Saskia joined Siemens, where she is currently working on control systems for power applications.

We are incredibly proud of Saskia and grateful for all her contributions to the CONCISE Lab. We wish her continued success in this exciting new chapter of her career. Congratulations, Dr. Putri, you will be missed!

AWARD ALERT apr 2026

CONGRATULATIONS TO NAZIA!

We are glad to share that CONCISE's PhD Candidate, Nazia Raza, once again received the second-place award in the Graduate Student Technical Paper Competition at the ASCE EWRI Conference 2026, held in Mobile, Alabama.

Nazia’s award-winning work investigates the application of Neural Stochastic Differential Equations to uncover hidden stochastic dynamics in cyber-physical water systems. This research contributes to the development of more intelligent, uncertainty-aware, and resilient approaches for modeling and monitoring water infrastructure systems.

Congratulations to Nazia on this well-deserved recognition!

EWRI Conference apr 2026

The CONCISE Lab presented seven research works at the ASCE Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) Congress 2026, held in Mobile, Alabama. The presentations highlighted the lab’s ongoing efforts to advance intelligent, resilient, and data-driven water infrastructure systems.

Model-free, data-driven control frameworks.
Neural SDE-based stochastic dynamic modeling.
Uncertainty-aware leak detection.
Data-driven linearization.
Existing and missing gaps in interconnected water-energy infrastructure systems.
Two real-time datasets collected from the physical water distribution testbed and the quadrupled tank process are publicly available on our GitHub page and Zenodo.

Congratulations to CONCISE Lab members who presented their work at EWRI Congress 2026.

JOURNAL publication mar 2025

This article presents a data-driven modeling framework based on local maximum entropy basis function. The framework is applied to autonomous, non-autonomous, and physical water supply testbeds. For more details, access the article using this link.

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY'S 3MT COMPETITION WINNERS FEB 2026

CONCISE lab's two members won this year's Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition organized by Lehigh University's Graduate Life Office by translating their complex research into compelling narratives. Oluwabunmi Iwakin received the first place, and Nazia Raza received the people's choice award. For more details, access the LinkedIn post shared by Lehigh University using this link.

Oluwabunmi Iwakin (First Place)

Nazia Raza (People's Choice Award)

WINNING ELEVATOR PITCH AT 3 RIVERS VENTURE FAIR FEB 2026

CONCISE Lab's director, Dr. Farrah Moazeni, earned third place at the 3 Rivers Venture Fair University Tech Showcase. Supported by Lehigh’s NSF-funded Research Translation AcceLUrator (RTA), she presented a four-minute pitch on her research focused on real-time, multi-modal detection of leaks and failures in water distribution systems. Her work integrates advanced sensing and data-driven methods to improve infrastructure resilience and reliability. The experience provided valuable insights into research commercialization and fostered connections within the innovation community.

JOURNAL publication DEC 2025

This article presents a novel deep learning-based framework for the economic dispatch of a water-microgrid with desalination units using multi-channel convolutional neural networks. Key experiments resulted in large computational gains under different operational conditions. For more details, access the article using this link.

JOURNAL publication NOV 2025

This article alerts water utilities to the vulnerabilities of distribution networks under false data injection attacks and uncertainty. Such attacks can jeopardize operations by damaging pump systems, cutting off water supply, and causing pressure surges throughout the network. For more details, access the article using this link.

A detailed article on false data injection scenarios can be found here.

LEHIGH-SiEmens partnership FOR ADVANCING MICROGRID RESEARCH ON AI Data Centers NOV 2025

Lehigh University's CONCISE Lab has entered a new collaboration with Siemens to advance real-time monitoring and control solutions for microgrids supporting AI-intensive data centers. This partnership focuses on developing resilient and adaptive power systems capable of handling the rapid and unpredictable load changes driven by large-scale artificial intelligence operations.

As part of this collaboration, PhD student Saskia Putri has been awarded a year-long Siemens research fellowship. Saskia will work closely with Siemens researchers to design and model a localized data-center microgrid, develop real-time disturbance detection tools, and validate control strategies using resources from the CONCISE and INTEGRITY (Director: Javad Khazaei) laboratories.

You can read the full story here.

LEHIGH'S NSF-ART GRANT Aug 2025

CONCISE is awarded $100K for eighteen months as a part of Lehigh's National Science Foundation ART grant through the Seed Translational Research Project (STRP). Our team will develop and translate a multi-modal leakage and operational failure detection framework on real-world smart water distribution systems.

As part of this research, two of our PhD students, Nazia Raza (lead researcher) and Oluwabunmi Iwakin (co-researcher), will develop a digital twin of Lehigh's water distribution system for real-time anomaly detection.

Co-PIs: Edward Boscola (left) and Doug Spengel (right)

JOURNAL publication Aug 2025

This article proposes data-driven models to predict the minute-based, economic dispatch solutions for the integrated water-energy microgrid. The major findings revealed high computational gains with accurate results. For more details, access the paper with this link.

JOURNAL publication AUG 2025

This paper proposes a data-driven predictive control framework that leverages deep neural networks to approximate stability-guaranteed nonlinear model predictive control policies, enabling automated power management for MVDC shipboard microgrids under highly dynamic conditions such as pulsed loads, faults, and cyberattacks. For more details, access the paper with this link.

SEIMENS R&d TEAM VISIT jULY 2025

We had a pleasure of hosting the Siemens Automation and Control R&D team at CONCISE research lab. The visit offered an exciting opportunity to present our ongoing projects, including system identification, AI-driven event detection, fast economic dispatch solutions and resilient control strategies for cyber-physical systems.

It was a true honor to welcome Dr. Terry Hart (pictured far left), a former NASA astronaut and professor, whose distinguished career in aerospace and control systems added a unique perspective to the discussions.

The visit fostered a rich exchange of ideas, highlighted collaborative possibilities, and reinforced the alignment between academic research and real-world industrial challenges. We look forward to continuing this dialogue and exploring potential avenues for future collaboration with Siemens.

Introducing Our Summer 2025 Undergraduate Research Students jUNE 2025

We’re excited to welcome Maddie (left) and Hannah to the CONCISE Lab for their Summer Research experience! These talented students will be exploring direct-to-chip cooling techniques for data centers. We're thrilled to support and mentor the next generation of innovators.

CONCISE LAB'S CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH IS FEATURED BY LEHIGH UNIVERSITY MAY 2025
The CONCISE Lab's member, Nazia Raza, who is in third-year of her PhD, recently published her work in Water Research Journal, titled "Optimal cybersecurity framework for smart water systems: Detection, localization and severity assessment". Due to applicability and novelty of her work, she is featured by Lehigh University as one of the top emerging researchers in the field of cybersecurity for critical infrastructure.
Nazia’s interdisciplinary approach integrates insights from cybersecurity, water systems engineering, and data science, offering a scalable solution for utility providers. The recognition by Lehigh University highlights the CONCISE Lab’s commitment to cutting-edge, socially impactful research, and marks an important milestone in advancing secure and resilient water infrastructure.
You can read the full story here.

CONSISE LAB Presenting six research articles at ewri congress 2025 MAY 2025

Our research lab presented six research articles at the ASCE Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) Congress 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. The research articles are about optimal operations of water-energy systems using data-driven approaches, detection of cyberattack and false data injection events using machine learning, hardware-in-the-loop based validations and the resilience indexes generation of coordinated water-energy microgrid.

wdsa ECO-WEs panel discussion at ewri congress 2025 MAY 2025

The WDSA Efficient Combined Water-Energy Systems (ECO_WES) Task Committee, chaired by CONCISE Director Dr. Farrah Moazeni, moderated an informative panel discussion at EWRI Congress 2025 on the critical aspects of coordinated water-energy systems, featuring experts from both domains.

WDSA GSTC Committee meeting AT EWRI CONGRESS MAY 2025

The EWRI WDSA Graduate Student Task Committee (GSTC) organized an in-person committee meeting at the EWRI Congress on May 20 to discuss the past year’s activities and plan for the year ahead. The session was moderated by our PhD student, Oluwabunmi Iwakin.

WDSA GSTC SOCIAL EVENT AT EWRI CONGRESS MAY 2025

EWRI WDSA Gradate Student Task Committee (GSTC) organized a social event right after the ice-breaker of the EWRI congress on May 18 at The Broken Blender, Anchorage, AK. The task committee is chaired by our PhD students Oluwabunmi and Nazia.

JOURNAL publication MAY 2025

This article proposes three machine learning models to predict the minute-based, economic dispatch solutions for the integrated water-energy microgrid. The major findings revealed high computational gains with accurate results. For more details, access the paper with this link.

TOUR TO lehigh university's CENTRAL PLANTS apr, 2025

The CONCISE group recently visited Lehigh University's Central Plants to explore collaboration opportunities and discuss current challenges related to the heating and air-conditioning systems of campus buildings. The visit aimed to support efficient water-energy retrofitting efforts as part of the Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (ACES) program.

JOURNAL publication MAr, 2025

Cybersecurity of smart water distribution systems is a major concern due to system vulnerabilities. Deep learning-based attack detection and localization is essential for protecting critical infrastructure. For post-attack decision-making, a novel cybersecurity index is established to assess the spread and magnitude of the attack. This article is published in the Water Research journal. For more details, access the paper using the link here.

JOURNAL publication JAN, 2025

The paper proposes a data-driven nonlinear model predictive control strategy for water distribution systems using dynamic model identification and Lyapunov stability to ensure stable pressure and energy-efficient pump operation. Simulations validate its effectiveness with high accuracy, cost-savings, and improved compliance under nominal and robust conditions. For more details, access the paper with this link.

DOE awards $12 million to expand marine energy initiatives at Lehigh and partner universities, CONCISE lab is leading one of the Lehigh's projects OCT, 2028

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently granted the Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC) $12 million to expand research and development in marine energy initiatives. In total, DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office invested more than $41 million in this latest round of funding using the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to four university-led National Marine Energy Centers located across the country. The centers will use the funds to support research, infrastructure improvements, strategy, administration, outreach, and communications around their projects.

Read the full blog post here here.

ASCE BRIAUD STUDENTS FUND, NOV 2024

Congratulating Saskia for receiving ASCE foundation support for presenting her research in upcoming EWRI Congress 2025 at Anchorage, Alaska.

ICPIE FEATURING CONCISE LAB OCT, 2024

One of our PhD students, Saskia Putri, is featured by Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy (ICPIE) for her research in integrated water-energy systems, contributing to advancements in sustainable infrastructure.

Read the full blog post here here.

JOURNAL publication Aug, 2024

Highly stable and advanced controllers for the Naval Shipboard power systems. The paper is published in IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification. The proposed controller's effectiveness is validated using Real time Simulator. For more details, access the paper with this link.

We deeply appreciate Lehigh University for recognizing the efforts of our CONCISE members and for featuring this news on their website. You can read the full announcement on Lehigh University's website.

graduate paper competition winners | ewri congress May, 2024

Congratulating nazia and saskia

We proudly announce that our two Ph.D. students Nazia and Saskia have received the Best Paper Award under the Graduate Paper Competition at EWRI Congress, 2024.

Nazia received the second-best paper award for "A Holistic Cybersecurity Framework against False Data Injection Attacks in Smart Water Distribution Systems Employing Auto-Encoders".

Saskia is honored with the third-best paper award for "Data Driven System Identification of Water Distribution Systems via Kernel-Based Interpolation."

JOURNAL publication FEB, 2024

High-accuracy data-driven control strategies for smart water systems. The new paper is published in Water Process Engineering Journal. Sparse-regression-based models are introduced for dynamic system identification of water distribution systems. For more details, access the paper with this link.

LET'S WELCOME THE NEW CONCISE MEMBER jan, 2024

MADALYN JORDAN

We are excited to announce our new Undergraduate Researcher to the team! She is the first generation engineer bringing her passion and intelligence to the CONCISE lab.

JOURNAL publication JAN, 2024

A cutting-edge urban water demand forecast research is published in Water Process Engineering. The paper proposed hybrid ML models for the water demand forecast which enables improved decision-making and resource management. For more details, access the paper with this link .

JOURNAL publication Dec, 2023

Another extensive research in cybersecurity of smart water distribution systems is published in International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection. The paper evaluates the vulnerabilities of smart water systems against stealthy false data injection attacks with underlying uncertainties in the system. For more details, access the paper with this link.

NEW OPENING JAN, 2023

At CONCISE lab, we are always looking for talented and passionate PhD students. If you have the following skills, please follow the application process:

Desired skills:

Proficiency in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Algorithms
Proficiency in Optimization and Control Systems
Proficiency in Communication Skills (speaking and writing)
Proficiency in (or willingness to learn) LaTex
Background in Water Systems
Background in Water-Energy Nexus
Proficiency in MATLAB/Python

How to apply: Please email your detailed CV, one sample publication, TOEFL/IELTS scores, and unofficial transcripts as one single PDF to moazeni@lehigh.edu. Please specify “CONCISE applicant” in the email subject. Women and students from historically marginalized groups are highly encouraged to apply!

Note : The candidate must be accepted in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Program of Lehigh University.

LET'S WELCOME THE NEW CONCISE MEMBER DEC, 2023

daniela villacres

We are excited to announce the newest addition to our team at CONCISE Lab. She is an incoming PhD student who will be joining us in Fall 2024. Daniela comes to us from Ecuador, bringing a unique blend of skills and experiences that promise to enrich our research community.

JOURNAL publication FEB, 2024

JOURNAL publication AUG 2025

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