On Class Day, Andlinger celebrates graduating seniors, awards research prize for work on model to control battery storage systems
On Monday, May 25, the Andlinger Center honored 22 graduating seniors at the annual Class Day ceremony for their successful completion of the Minor in Sustainable Energy.
Iain McCulloch, director of the Andlinger Center, kicked off the celebration by congratulating the seniors on the achievements they made over the course of their time at Princeton University. “We hope that the knowledge they have gained here will inform and enrich their perspectives as they move forward in their careers,” said McCulloch, who is also the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment.
McCulloch applauded the students for completing demanding courses on energy and environmental topics and for undertaking a variety of independent research projects. The research submitted by the members of the graduating class covered topics including industrial decarbonization, critical minerals policy, photovoltaics, clean energy supply chains, and more.
Anuja Magdum, a mechanical and aerospace engineering student, explored green hydrogen in production in space, while civil and electrical engineering student Cynthia Jacobson explored using photovoltaic green roofs to improve urban heat islands.
At the ceremony, the Andlinger Center Research Prize in Energy and the Environment was awarded to electrical and computer engineering student Alex Tseng for his work on an algorithm for battery dispatch, or the scheduled control of a battery storage system. The work was chosen for both its outstanding research and commitment to solving one of the world’s pressing energy challenges.
Large grid-connected batteries can store cheap, clean electricity when renewable energies — like wind and solar — produce more power than the grid needs. This stored energy can then be released later, during peak demand, reducing reliance on expensive, polluting power. Tseng’s thesis attempts to improve the forecasting and optimization required to control these assets so they can more effectively make the grid cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable.
“Battery prices are going down, the electric grid is becoming more strained,” said Tseng, who was advised by Jesse Jenkins, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Andlinger Center. “So now is a ripe time for innovation in making energy storage systems more efficient and more reliable.”
“Alex’s thesis is a truly impressive work that could form the foundation of a practical and economically competitive method for battery dispatch,” said Jenkins.
In the fall, Tseng will begin a master’s in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing on a fully-funded Schwarzman Scholarship. Afterwards, he said he hopes to continue the research he conducted on his undergraduate thesis in the electric grid and work in clean tech.
Tseng said he credits his time at the Andlinger Center for shaping the interests he now plans to carry forward into his professional career.
“Part of the reason I came to Princeton was for the Andlinger Center,” said Tseng. The classes he took, he said, deepened his interest in quantitative methods for making the grid efficient and reliable. “Energy storage, which is really an emerging market, seems like the perfect thing to work in.”
Other graduating seniors plan to pursue energy and environmental challenges across a wide range of fields. Some students will proceed into graduate programs in fields like public affairs and aerospace engineering. Others are pursuing careers as environmental engineers and as investment analysts focused on renewable energy and carbon capture technologies.
In closing the ceremony, Egemen Kolemen, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering jointly appointed with the Andlinger Center and director of the Minor in Sustainable Energy, thanked the students and their families for joining in the celebration. “My colleagues and I offer each member of the Program in Sustainable Energy, Class of 2026, our warmest congratulations, and wish you the very best as you embark in your careers and future studies,” said Kolemen.
