Seite - 26 - in options, Band summer 2018

yssppeople at iiasa 26 www.iiasa.ac.atoptions ◼ summer 2018 Having been encouraged to apply by her academic advisor, Jeffrey Bielicki, Wang came to IIASA for the summer from Ohio State University in the USA. Her project titled “Hydro climate impacts on current and planned coal-fired power plants in Asia” was selected as one of the three best from the 2017 YSSP-cohort and she subsequently received a Peccei Award for outstanding policy-based research. Wang and her supervisors identified some interesting extensions to her work, which she is now looking forward to exploring when she returns to IIASA in 2018. “It is rare to spend such a long time with people from other institutions and countries. It helped me to put my research into a much broader perspective,” says Wang. “I also learned a lot about other research areas from both the seminars and other YSSPers, which helped me to identify some research projects I want to do in the future,” she adds. According to Wang, some of the benefits were more specific. Her skills in energy modeling, input-output modeling, network analysis, and in using Python, particularly improved. She believes that her time at IIASA made her a better researcher, because of the interdisciplinarity, international connections, and new perspectives. “My time in the YSSP was the happiest three months of my life. It is a great professional experience, but also great fun. You get to know around 50 people who you can ask for help or collaborate with in the future,” she says. HT Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida is a graduate researcher at the University of California, Davis in the USA. He is originally from Mexico and is sponsored by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT), and the University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS). Ortiz’s 2017 project received a Mikhalevich Award for outstanding mathematical and methodological research. “The research I started last summer is related to the use of optimization models for reducing water allocation thresholds between human and environmental water use along rivers while maximizing the economic benefits. There is still work to do in terms of refining the model and analysis, as well as outreach,” he says. Ortiz’s supervisors Taher Kahil, Tatiana Ermolieva, and Yurii Yermoliev were very helpful in teaching him about optimization methodologies, software, programming languages, and improving his writing. “These are all skills I am taking back and applying towards my degree and my career. The people and the projects developed at IIASA are so diverse, that I was introduced to many different ways of thinking, and problems and solutions that I never imagined,” says Ortiz. Ortiz describes the YSSP as a unique opportunity to interact with researchers from all over the world, to make friends, and become part of an international family. The best part of the YSSP is the people. IIASA researchers, staff, and the other YSSPers create an atmosphere of inspiration, camaraderie, and personal growth that would be hard to find anywhere else,” says Ortiz. HT www.iiasa.ac.at/yssp/awards “The happiest three months of my life” Yaoping Wang, a 2017 YSSP participant and Peccei Award recipient, talks about her experiences at IIASA “The best part of the YSSP is the people” Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida participated in the 2017 YSSP and recently won funding to return to IIASA in 2018 Yaoping Wang Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida