Kariana Andrea Moreno Sader
Kariana Andrea Moreno Sader is a PhD candidate whose research focuses on decarbonizing transportation systems, a key component in addressing climate change and developing a sustainable, global economy. Specifically, Kariana uses a combination of MATLAB-based simulation and analysis to compare options in long-haul trucking, one of the most challenging sectors of the economy to decarbonize. As a MathWorks Fellow, Kariana will advance her innovative modeling techniques to provide comparisons of different vehicle types and associated refueling/recharging infrastructure, with the goal of providing useful “apples-to-apples” comparisons and economic metrics that support decision-making. Her analysis is already yielding useful insights; for example, her work demonstrates that given current costs, a sizeable carbon tax will be needed to drive the transition to cleaner powertrains. Kariana is making extensive use of MATLAB tools in her research and sharing her own models and applications with the MathWorks community. Kariana’s work has the potential to help identify real solutions for combating climate change and offers an inspiring example of the ways that MATLAB can be deployed in the creation of innovative decision-making tools in many areas of research.