PI
Julianne Quinn
PhD, Cornell University, 2017
BS, Columbia University, 2011
I am an environmental systems engineer and professor at UVA. Growing up, I always loved doing outdoor activities and was a big math geek. When I started college, I was excited to learn I could make a career applying concepts of mathematics to improve the management of environmental systems. My research specifically focuses on advancing optimization and simulation methods used to inform the design and management of water resources systems with the goals of protecting people from nature (floods and droughts), and nature from people (pollution and consumption). I am particularly interested in how advanced sensing and forecasting techniques can be used to inform this optimization.
PhD Students
Kajol Basnet
BS, Tribhuvan University, 2018
I am a PhD student in Civil Engineering at the University of Virginia. My research, under the guidance of Dr. Julianne Quinn, is part of an ambitious initiative known as the Climate Collaborative, focusing on empowering women in Bihar, India, to address water insecurity exacerbated by climate change. With a background that combines a B.S. in civil engineering from Kathmandu Engineering College, Tribhuvan University and two years of experience in research in the field of mountain hydrology and glaciers, I am excited to continue working in the field to contribute to meaningful, community-focused solutions for climate resilience.
Hossein KavianiHamedani
MS, Sharif University of Technology, 2019
BS, Sharif University of Technology, 2016
I am a PhD student in systems engineering working on green infrastructure optimization to reduce flooding and minimize low flow exacerbation under climate change uncertainties. After finishing my B.S. in civil engineering at the Sharif University of Technology, I started my M.S. program in water resources engineering management where my primary research focused on developing reliability-based approaches to analyze wind energy potential. That’s where I found myself passionate about developing probabilistic frameworks in environmental studies. I joined Dr. Quinn’s lab in Fall 2019 to pursue my graduate study in PhD program. My research interests are mainly focused on multi-objective optimization, MCMC methods, and machine learning applications in hydrology.
Daniel Lassiter
BS, University of Virginia, 2016
I am a civil engineering PhD student working to develop techniques for optimizing coastal flood mitigation decisions under climate change. After receiving my B.S. in civil engineering from UVA in 2016, I spent the next four years working for an environmental consulting firm where my primary responsibilities included hydrologic modeling to support the design of streams and stormwater treatment systems. My employer sponsored my enrollment in Dr. Quinn’s Stochastic Hydrology course which inspired me to continue my education at my alma mater in Dr. Quinn’s lab group where I started in the Fall of 2020. In addition to my research, I am also a leading member of the Virginia Scientist Community Interface (V-SCI) which is a multi-institution team of volunteer graduate students whose mission is to bring scientific literacy and background to community led advocacy and activism.
Mashood Ur Rahman
BS, NUST Institute of Islamabad, 2018
I am a PhD student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UVA. I did my bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from NUST Pakistan in 2018. Following that, I spent five years working in an engineering consultancy, primarily focusing on hydraulic design for hydropower, irrigation dam, water supply projects. This experience significantly strengthened my expertise in hydropower and water resources management. In Spring 2024, I joined Dr. Quinn’s research group to further expand my knowledge in this field. My research centers on harnessing renewable energy in Appalachia, to promote environmental sustainability. Within this research project, my primary focus is to identify suitable locations, determine optimal sizes, and optimize the operation of pumped storage hydropower facilities while integrating it with the wind and solar energy resources.
Samarth Singh
ME, University of Virginia, 2020
BE, Birla Institute of Technology, 2017
Samarth is a second year PhD student in the Engineering Systems and Environment department. He completed his BE in Computer Science from BIT Mesra, India in 2017 and ME in Systems Engineering from University of Virginia (UVA) in 2020. Before starting his Masters, he worked in the software industry as a JAVA developer in Tejas Networks. At UVA, his research focus is on performing multi-objective optimization to find optimal policy decisions for reservoir operations.
Quinn Research Group 