Alex Zolan
Researcher - Thermal Energy Systems at National Laboratory of the Rockies
Austin, Texas, United States
Summary
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Top SchoolAlex Zolan is a researcher and developer with eight years of experience building optimization-driven software for the design and dispatch of microgrids and concentrating solar power systems. Based in Austin, he blends a PhD in Operations Research with hands-on coding—authoring Python and C++ tools and decomposition methods that cut solve times by an order of magnitude while preserving solution quality. His work spans national labs and academia, where he reduced sampling variance by >90% in simulation workflows and produced heuristics for mixed-integer programs applied to remote forward operating bases. Comfortable at the intersection of simulation, optimization, and energy systems, he focuses on practical, deployable algorithms that improve reliability and cost-effectiveness of distributed renewable resources. A less obvious strength is his background in market research and actuarial-trained systems thinking, which informs his pragmatic approach to complex, data-driven energy decisions.
7 years of coding experience
9 years of employment as a software developer
B.S., Economics - Actuarial Science, B.S., Economics - Actuarial Science at The Wharton SchoolDoctor of Philosophy - PhD, Operations Research and Industiral Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Operations Research and Industiral Engineering at The University of Texas at AustinMaster of Arts - MA, Mathematics, Master of Arts - MA, Mathematics at Western Connecticut State UniversityB.S., Systems Engineering, B.S., Systems Engineering at University of Pennsylvania
Github Skills (13)
renewable-energy10
energy10
api10
optimization10
simulation6
agent-based-modeling6
mixed-integer-programming6
julia6
modelica5
financial5
linear-programming4
nonlinear-programming4
sam3
Programming languages (4)
Github contributions (5)
NREL/HALOS
Aug 2020 - Dec 2022
Contributions:2 reviews, 70 commits, 25 PRs in 2 years 3 months
NREL/dao-tk
Jun 2018 - Dec 2020
Contributions:221 commits, 2 PRs, 33 pushes in 2 years 6 months
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