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Doctoral candidate Niranjan Sitapure smiles in front of Conference of Parties sign in Egypt.
Niranjan Sitapure was invited to showcase Texas A&M's research toward climate change within engineering. | Image: Courtesy of Niranjan Sitapure

Texas A&M University doctoral candidate Niranjan Sitapure was given an opportunity to present at the Conference of Parties in Egypt last November.

Sitapure, a student in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and a member of Dr. Joseph Kwon’s lab showcased a brief, very high-level overview of the Texas A&M Energy Institute's contribution to climate change engineering.

Specifically, the presentation provided a broad overview of EI’s expertise in process modeling and optimization, data-driven energy forecasting, supply chain, resilience and circular economy from the context of hydrogen generation, carbon capture, and food-energy-water nexus.

(COP) is an internal conference hosted by the United Nations (UN) that focuses on global warming issues, and corresponding remedial actions in form of legislation, compliance treaties, and corporate guidelines on a global scale.

The conference was hosted by Egypt in Sharm El-Sheikh and was touted as Africa’s COP with a focus on implementation and practical actions taken by UN countries in accordance with the Paris Agreement.

“For my personal benefit, as I'm going into management consulting, and I'll be working with a lot of financial clients, so understanding how the corporate and the legal sides kind of interact with each other is something very interesting that a Ph.D. student does not generally have an opportunity to see at such an international scale,” Sitapure said.

“He presented a high-level overview of the Energy Institute's contributions to ClimateTech engineering using the process-systems engineering approach, highlighting the multifaceted approach they deploy to solve problems associated with the food-water-energy nexus, hydrogen, carbon capture and fossil fuels,” Kwon said.

Sitapure said he was surprised that there were many students and representatives from different universities who had this expertise or inclination towards sustainability.

He was also pleased to see so many network opportunities as possible with fellow students and other companies. To him it was reassuring to have connections and resources in a career he wants to continue pursuing.

In addition to the presentation, Sitapure was able to network with a few potential collaborators and student-focused programs. He was also part of a cohort of graduate students in energy and STEM-related disciplines from various U.S. universities.

“Sitapure is a true academic trailblazer, fearlessly tackling complex challenges in the field of chemical engineering with his innovative approaches in modeling, machine learning, and process control,” Kwon said. “His passion for leadership burns bright as he guides various organizations towards a sustainable future in energy.”