Energy Scholars Program

Josh Constanti

Josh focuses his career and studies on increasing the deployment of renewable energy and combating climate change. With experience in both business and environmental industries, Josh has worked in project development for large-scale solar and wind projects throughout the United States. He has also worked to help increase the ease of transactions for companies looking to purchase renewable energy while interning with Rocky Mountain Institute.

Born in in London England, Josh is a dual citizen of the U.S. and U.K., which lends him a world view and understanding that, “my actions – and ours as a society – can and do impact others around the world (and also future generations). Perhaps no single issue exemplifies this dynamic more than climate change”.

Josh is pursuing a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management where he double majored in Finance and Entrepreneurship, graduating magna cum laude. Josh has a passion for the outdoors and photography, traveling the world solo backpacking through over 20 countries between 2013 and 2014.To learn more about Josh, please see his LinkedIn profile.

Michelle Davis

Michelle is a research analyst focused on the commercial solar industry at GTM Research. She dedicates her studies and career to providing key knowledge and insights about renewable energy while practicing and promoting sustainable change and environmentalism. Throughout her career she has produced quantitative analysis on the impact of U.S. power plants on water use, analyzed renewable energy state and federal policy compliance, and synthesized trends impacting the commercial and residential distributed solar markets.

While discussing the need for a more sustainable electric grid and what drew her to working in the energy industry, Michelle states, “we can’t ask people to stop using electricity for the sake of environmental conservation. And given that most people have no choice in where their electricity comes from, we can’t ask them to only purchase electricity from renewable fuels either. But we can work to change how the nation’s power companies produce electricity for its citizens.”

Michelle is pursuing her Master of Business Administration in Sustainability from Antioch University New England. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Society, with a Minor in Sustainability, from Arizona State University. She regularly volunteers with organizations and advocates for programs that support women in science, technology and energy. Read more about Michelle on LinkedIn.

Nitish Garg

Nitish’s education and professional experience center on energy and environmental systems. His work focuses on capital investment projects evaluation, along with project management and development, and is knowledgeable in U.S. wholesale markets and energy storage systems.

While at Duke, Nitish’s thesis project explored harnessing the second-use life of batteries used by data centers. Nitish explains, “according to the U.S. Department of Energy, data centers in the U.S. consumed 70 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2014, which is two percent of the total energy consumption of the country. For decades, data center uninterruptible power supply systems (UPS) have predominantly relied on lead acid batteries for backup transitional power.” Nitish’s project focuses on the technological feasibility analysis of extending the useful life of these battery resources for non-critical applications.

Nitish completed his Master in Engineering Management from the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and received a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from PEC University of Technology in Chandigarh, India. He is the former President of the Duke MEMP Energy Club and is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) with the Association of Energy Engineers. Nitish’s interest in renewable and clean energy developed early on, having grown up in a small town in northern India where he and his family had access to electricity for fewer than six hours per day. Read more about Nitish on LinkedIn.

Kayla Kutter

Kayla has a background in mathematics, science and education, leveraging these skills as a tutor, international teaching volunteer and performing data analysis for the Sandia National Laboratory Computational Physics in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Reflecting on her computational physics internship at Sandia and a tour of the nuclear reactor facility, “seeing the research on energy currently being conducted was eye-opening and made me want to be a part of the next generation creating a sustainable future…Sustainability is more about people than anything else. No matter the project, if the people you are working with aren’t personally invested or committed, the project will not last past your departure.”

Kayla is pursuing a Master in Sustainability Solutions from Arizona State University. She received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and a Minor in Physics from University of New Mexico, Albuquerque where she was active in the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and awarded Greek Woman of the Year 2014. Read more about Kayla on Linkedin.

Jaydeep Laljani

Jaydeep has over seven years of experience working in engineering, energy efficiency, and business development with a specific focus on market growth and strategic partnerships in both early-stage startups and established organizations.

Jaydeep seeks an impact-oriented career, focusing his learning and work experience on the evolving alternative energy industry and understanding innovations in movement of capital in financial markets. He shares, “I strongly believe that channeling the power of traditional funding institutions will be essential in finding sustainable solutions. The world doesn’t have the substantial political will or foresight to tackle the climate issue and an economic solution will be needed.”

Jaydeep is pursuing a Master of Business Administration at UCLA Anderson School of Management where he is the recipient of the Anderson MBA Merit Fellowship and Haskamp Fellowships. Jaydeep received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He enjoys performing stand-up and improvisational comedy, competing in triathlons, practices meditation and travels the world to explore what makes people from different cultures laugh. Read more about Jaydeep on LinkedIn.

Bhuvan Neema

Bhuvan has focused his career interests and experience in the energy and infrastructure industry sectors. In particular, he is passionate about energy and power system modeling, market research, policy analysis, and financial modeling.

Discussing his interest in renewable energy and climate change, Bhuvan shares his belief that “fostering an inclusive community is equally important for creating effective and innovative solutions to tackle environmental issues. Active inclusion of people from all backgrounds, income levels, and ethnicities enables diverse opinions and experiences in the decision-making process.”

Bhuvan received a Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Systems and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in December 2017. He received his Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology where he was awarded best thesis project in his class and lead a team of 25 to the Asia-Pacific Robotics competition finals. Raised in Mumbai, India, Bhuvan enjoys experimenting with Indian style cooking and is a self-taught salsa dancer and squash player. Read more about Bhuvan via LinkedIn.

Krisztina Pjeczka

Krisztina has focused her studies and career on the nexus of energy, business and the environment. As a Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, she has worked with the ultimate goal of becoming a leader in clean energy development and climate change mitigation.

Krisztina’s interest in climate change was sparked during her gap year in the Indian Himalayas. She witnessed the damage an unprecedented rainfall event caused in the deserted mountains of Jammu and Kashmir. Realizing that this was likely a symptom of a more intricate issue, she decided to study environmental systems in college.

Krisztina graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College with a degree in Environmental Studies and Economics and a minor in French. At Middlebury, she was an International Davis UWC Scholar and was selected for a three-year fellowship at the Center for Social Entrepreneurship. As a Fellow, she worked on a sustainable agriculture project in Peru, a social entrepreneurship course for high school students in Mexico, and at a sustainable business tech start-up in Boston. Her international experiences have greatly shaped her worldview on effective and equitable management and environmental policy. She then went on to work at the World Resources Institute and ICF International on global climate policy and greenhouse gas accounting projects.

At Yale, Krisztina became the Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Environment Review, a student-run publication that aims to bridge the gap between the environmental science community and the wider public. In the summer of 2017, she interned with the Origination team of EDP Renewables, the fourth largest wind and solar developer in the world. A native of Hungary, Krisztina has lived in Singapore and France, and speaks Hungarian, French and Spanish. Read more about Krisztina on Linkedin.

Taylor Price

Taylor’s professional and educational experience focuses on sustainable energy policy, environmental management, and renewable energy purchases, credits, and carbon offsets.

Taylor is pursuing a Master of Environmental Management, as well as a Certificate in Environmental Entrepreneurship from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Taylor is one of eight first-year students in the Duke University Nicholas Scholars Program, is a Duke University Nemergut Scholar, and a GreenBiz 2017 Emerging Leader. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and a Minor in Geography from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Taylor plans to use her master’s degree to advance global climate action via strategic planning, stakeholder relations, and communication. With her concentration in environmental economics and sustainability policy, she’ll look to address environmental issues and enhance public-private partnerships regarding climate action and energy. Read more about Taylor on LinkedIn.