About Me

Education

I got my B.S. from Tufts University in 2019, with joint degrees in computer science and biology.
 
In the fall of 2019, I matriculated to Princeton University through the program in Quantitative and Computational Biology. In January of 2021, after a mid-first year career pivot, I defended a project proposal for work in optimization of energy systems models and earned my master’s degree.
 
My primary passion is climate-relevant policy; I aim to ensure that energy systems models provide maximally useful insights to all decisionmakers who rely on them.

Extracurricular Experience

I am currently the Chair of Academic Affairs with the Princeton Graduate Student Government. Through this role, I develop programming to support the 3,000 graduate students across all disciplines at Princeton. I also work individually with students in need of assistance or facing extenuating circumstances preventing them from thriving.
 
I am the former president of Princeton Citizen Scientists; with PCS I helped establish a presence for science policy on campus. I founded sustainability and environmental justice task forces, and led a 2022 advocacy trip to Washington D.C.
 
I am the current secretary of Princeton Energy and Climate Scholars; through this two-year fellowship appointment, I support climate and energy-relevant discourse on campus. I also engage in the program’s annual outreach work.
 
I have worked with the High Meadows Environmental Institute, and organized the student seminar series for their certificate in environmental studies in the 2020 – 2021 academic year.
May, 2019
Bachelor of Science

Tufts U.

January, 2021
Master of Arts

Princeton U.

May, 2024
Doctor of Philosophy

Princeton U.

?
Who Knows!

TBD

My Main Interests Include:

Models are inherently a simplification of the systems they encapsulate. I am interested in how model structure (information incorporated and how it is used) impacts:

  1. Model runtime and tractability
  2. Model accuracy

When models are used to make climate- and policy-relevant decisions, it becomes hypercritical that results are meaningful, accurate, and easy to obtain in a quick-turnaround context.

Many climate solutions (biofuels and solar farms) incur heavy demand for land. These resources may come in conflict with other uses (forest preservation, habitable land, agriculture) also necessary for the human population to thrive. I believe that many proposed climate solutions incorporate insufficient information on land usage impacts. I am interested in studying the feasibility of proposed energy resource portfolios given a wide array of land constraint scenarios.

I have pivoted a number of times in my career: computer engineering → computer science → computational biology → climate science → climate policy. The impetus for each shift was an increasing awareness that climate change mitigation was my primary personal and professional driver.

When wielded effectively, fact-based public policy is our most powerful tool in abating emissions domestically and abroad. Long term, I hope to land in D.C., working in the legislative branch to push policy (like the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act!) that drives the United States to and beyond the goals stated in our Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement.

A healthy work-life balance ensures that each graduate student has the time, the funding, and the capacity to work to his/her/their full potential. Systems must be in place to ensure that any student facing hardship (be it in finding funding, conflicts with advisors, or an inability to meet requirements due to personal extenuating circumstances) has the tools that they need to thrive. Resource accessibility was the primary driver for my campaign for election to the Princeton Graduate Student Government.

Throughout my Academic Career...

Slideshow2
Graduating from Tufts University
The ZERO Lab
With team members after placing in the 2021 USAEE Case Competition
My 2022 summer at DOE

Fellowships and Honors

  • Ford Fellow, 2021. High-Meadows Environmental Institute’s program in Sceince, Technology, and Environmental Policy. Awarded a fellowship to support creation of a land usage module for the energy systems model developed as the main portion of my thesis.
  • Fellow, 2021. Princeton Energy and Climate Scholars. Two-year fellowship involving interdisciplinary discourse and outreach projects with a cohort of Princeton doctoral candidates.
  • Award, 2022. GradFUTURES Social Impact Fellowship. One of two awards granted to support summer work at the Office of Policy within the Department of Energy in Washington D.C.
  • Award, 2022. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. One of two awards granted to support summer work at the Office of Policy within the Department of Energy in Washington D.C.
  • Award, 2022. Princeton Graduate Student Government. Offered a stipend for a year-long tenure as Chair of Academic Affairs.
  • Award, 2021. United States Association for Energy Economics. Awarded funds for placing in the 2021 case competition along with a ZERO Lab team.
  • Academic Honors, 2019. Tufts University. Graduated Cum Laude in both fields of study. On the Dean’s List for 5 semesters throughout my undergraduate career.

Articles and Publications

  • Jenkins, J, Mayfield, E, Jones, R, Farbes, J, Patankar, N, Xu, Q, Jacobson, A, Schively, G, Leslie, E, Pascale, A, Wayner, C, Manocha, A, Bhandarkar, R, Feng, C (2022). Summary Report: The Climate Impact of Congressional Infrastructure and Budget Bills. REPEAT Project.
  • Anand, S, Grayer H, Jacobson A, Watson H. (2021). Assessing the Utility of Food Certifications in Advancing Environmental Justice. Highwire Earth.
  • Bruno S M, Jacobson A, Luxem K, Oldham R. (2019). Immigration Restrictions on Foreign Scholars do not Serve the National Interest. Princeton Citizen Scientists.
  • Krogh-Madsen, T., Jacobson, A. F., Ortega, F. A., & Christini, D. J. (2017). Global optimization of ventricular myocyte model to multi-variable objective improves predictions of drug-induced torsades de pointes. Frontiers in Physiology, 8, 1059.