As the summer season kicks off for the Energy, Policy, and Innovation Center, two new studies have been finalized and are now beginning research that will continue over the course of the next year. These studies cover a range of topics that were not formally addressed in the last request for proposals cycle, including the resiliency of the power grid after natural disaster events and the intensification and digitalization of logistics in the Southeastern U.S. 

“Creating the Next in Logistics: Economic development and sustainability in the U.S. Southeast” will be led by Valerie Thomas (PI), Tim Brown, Alan Erera, Benoit Montreuil, Martin Savelsbergh, and Chip White, and is a cooperative study across the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the School of Public Policy. 

This study will scope the status, impacts, and prospects for change and near-term options for “the next” in logistics. Business sectors of Georgia and throughout the Southeast are facing both a rapidly growing, energy-intense logistics demand and the digitalization of tools and processes, requiring decisive regional policy to prepare a roadmap for the future. The linked implications of intensification of logistics in the Southeast, with the technology transformations of electrification, autonomous transport, decentralization, decarbonization, and digitization will be framed, quantified and scoped from technology, economics, and policy perspectives. By pulling upon a wide and diverse range of participants, this study will research the status, impacts, and prospects for change and near-term options for the “next big thing” in logistics in the Southeastern U.S.  The results of this research will position Georgia Tech as an expert and thought-leader in 21st-century logistics. The project plans on running from June 2018-June 2019 and will result in a final report for publication. 

“Energy Infrastructure and Community Resilience: A spatiotemporal data analysis of the social and economic impact of power failures in the Southeast U.S.” will be led by Scott Ganz (co-PI) and Chuanyi Ji (co-PI), a cooperative study between the School of Public Policy and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. 

The resilience of our energy infrastructure is often tested by severe natural disasters and is dependent upon regional economics and policy conditions for recovery. This study will examine the costs of power outages from such disasters, the strength of community resiliency, and the distribution of those costs across the region. By obtaining data from a variety of sources, the team hopes to determine those social mechanisms that encourage a rapid economic recovery after natural disasters. The project plans on running for nine months and will produce research for publication.