Biography

Erick Jones is a Ph.D. candidate in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University. As an undergraduate, Erick researched growth mechanisms of single-walled carbon nanotubes. From there, he went to Houston and spent several years working in the design, manufacturing, oil and gas, and HVAC industries. During this time, he traveled around the world and witnessed how basic infrastructure like electricity, HVAC systems, clean water, internet, and banking where lacking and dramatically affected quality of life for the majority of the world’s population. These experiences motivated Erick to pursue research that can enhance quality of life by improving access to sustainable resources, particularly where a lack of physical infrastructure or economic resources presents a major obstacle.

In his research, Erick develops multi-systems optimization models to analyze how energy systems, water resources, supply chains, urban space, and transportation networks operate in concert to influence economic and environmental well-being. He has worked with the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, Los Alamos National Labs, the Energy Institute, and the Houston Health and Human Services. Erick also participates in education and outreach activities like the Planet Texas 2050 initiative and Science in Residence, which encourages K-12 students to think about climate change and other STEM issues.

Erick wants to create or participate in a lab that explores how multiple physical and social infrastructure systems can be designed and operated in concert. This lab would need equipment that could collect data from these systems such as advanced meters and IoT sensors, equipment that could receive and transmit this information such as 5G, and equipment to simulate these systems like conveyor systems and distributed energy and water technologies. Labs like the Pecan Street Labs in Austin, the RAID Labs at the University of Texas at Arlington, and the ARIES Labs at NREL provide guidance and inspiration for this lab.

The lab would need people with an understanding of modern data collection with cutting edge technologies, modeling techniques, and operations theory. Erick plans to provide instruction in systems modeling, systems engineering, and data collection, analysis, and visualization. Furthermore, he is able to provide a theoretical background on optimization and simulation techniques, supply chains and logistics, and production and inventory control.