{"682458":{"#nid":"682458","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Gamification of Power Grid Resilience Supports Research and Education ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYou\u2019re managing the Texas Panhandle\u2019s power grid. Heavy winds are blowing, and a worn-out utility pole ignites a fire by crashing onto a transmission line. Luckily, the fire department arrives quickly, putting out the fire before it spreads to nearby cities. But the same thing may happen again with gusty conditions predicted for the next 24 hours. Should you shut off miles of power lines to reduce that risk, causing outages for thousands of residents? Should you add batteries to the grid or move some power lines underground to lessen the impact of future fires? That sounds useful, but paying for these upgrades would require raising electricity rates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlayers of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/currentcrisis.itch.io\/current-crisis\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECurrent Crisis\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E video game are pondering these questions, similar to professional grid managers during the Texas Smokehouse Creek fire in 2024. But the players did not purchase \u003Cem\u003ECurrent Crisis\u003C\/em\u003E at a run-of-the-mill gaming store. They might have played it at Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/dataseum\/\u0022\u003EDataseum\u003C\/a\u003E, which featured the game in a recent exhibition. Or they might have helped develop it in weekly meetings with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/directory\/daniel-molzahn\u0022\u003EDaniel Molzahn\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/people-epicenter-team\/\u0022\u003EEPIcenter initiative lead\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201c\u003Cem\u003ECurrent Crisis\u003C\/em\u003E started as a computer simulation I programmed in Summer 2020 for a senior-level course\u0026nbsp;I taught that fall,\u201d says Molzahn. \u201cMy students had to dispatch crews to maintain or repair a simplified model of the Georgia power grid. In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, each dispatch had a risk of infection and quarantine, which meant losing the crew for the rest of that round. The students had a fixed budget to balance two competing goals: operating a power system with minimal outages and keeping the repair crews healthy.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe class project was popular, and its scope began to grow. Molzahn proposed turning his simulation into a video game in a July 2021 grant application to the National Science Foundation. He received the five-year award that fall and launched his \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/10\/vip-program-engages-students-long-term-projects-bridging-research-and-classroom\u0022\u003EVertically Integrated Project\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d on power grid gaming the following spring. It soon attracted about 35 students per semester, from sophomores to those pursuing graduate degrees in various disciplines. Most students stay for three to four semesters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETristan Ziegler joined the VIP as a computational media sophomore in Spring 2022 \u2014 and still works on it three years later as a professional programmer. \u201cI found the project by searching for \u2018game\u2019 on the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/vip.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EVIP website\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d says Ziegler, who graduated in 2024. \u201cIt offered much more freedom than traditional classes but still allowed me to earn credits and grades, unlike a student organization where you volunteer your time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe students quickly discovered the benefits of working toward a shared goal in smaller groups, focused on coding, grid modeling, graphic design, or artistic creativity. Some volunteered to lead initiatives, such as organizing the Dataseum exhibition or the 2025\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ai4opt.org\/seth-bonder-camp\u0022\u003ESeth Bonder summer camps\u003C\/a\u003E, where they will teach high schoolers the basics of game programming.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother long-term member of the VIP team is Ryan Piansky, a doctoral student, who studies the resilience of power grids to wildfires. He combines well-known engineering tools \u2014 algorithms for finding a mathematically optimal problem solution \u2014 with historical wildfire data to evaluate grid management decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have examined if policies based on established engineering principles help the people who need the most help, reduce the risk of outages broadly across the whole grid, and optimally allocate limited resources,\u201d explains Piansky, who works in Molzahn\u0027s research lab. \u201cTo do that, I combine power grid models with realistic wildfire simulations to assess if those policies would likely generate desirable outcomes in a range of plausible scenarios.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe VIP work on grid modeling has informed Piansky\u2019s research, but the climate models he uses to mimic the spread of wildfires are too complex for a fast-moving video game. That\u2019s why he has helped the students develop simplified versions of these models. Humidity and vegetation, for example, influence both real fires and those popping up in \u003Cem\u003ECurrent Crisis\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPiansky\u2019s research is part of Molzahn\u2019s long-term goal: developing computer tools that help professional grid managers improve the grid\u2019s resilience to natural disasters \u2014 from pandemics and wildfires to hurricanes, heat waves and floods.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe plan to record the choices made by \u003Cem\u003ECurrent Crisis\u003C\/em\u003E players in crowdsourced datasets that will support our research,\u201d says Molzahn. \u201cBy using these datasets to train machine-learning algorithms, we can harness the power of AI to develop better disaster response policies.\u201d (The European Space Agency uses a similar gamification strategy to map\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/activities.esa.int\/4000142966\u0022\u003Emoon craters\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project\u2019s benefits go well beyond these research contributions. Its educational value includes experience working in multidisciplinary teams of students at different levels and leadership development. Molzahn also hopes the game will help build public acceptance of disruptive actions during real disasters.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRecognizing the tradeoffs inherent in grid management is important, whether it\u2019s understanding why \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.psehealthyenergy.org\/public-safety-power-shutoffs-explained\/\u0022\u003Epower shutoffs\u003C\/a\u003E reduce fire risks or why service restorations are time-consuming,\u201d says Molzahn. \u201cThis may also generate broader public support for electricity rate increases and tax allocations to pay for infrastructure hardening.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWritten by: Silke Schmidt\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCurrent Crisis,\u201d a power grid modeling video game developed through the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/10\/vip-program-engages-students-long-term-projects-bridging-research-and-classroom\u0022\u003EVIP\u003C\/a\u003E project led by Dan Molzahn, EPIcenter\u0027s initiative lead, simulates real-world power grid challenges. The benefits of Current Crisis is multi-fold - it educates students, supports research on disaster resilience, and fosters public understanding of tough grid decisions like outages, upgrades, and rate increases.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u201cCurrent Crisis,\u201d a power grid modeling video game developed through the Georgia Tech VIP project led by Dan Molzahn, EPIcenter\u0027s initiative lead, simulates real-world power grid challenges. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2025-05-19 18:05:17","changed_gmt":"2025-05-27 16:07:45","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677090":{"id":"677090","type":"image","title":"Smoke cloud rising from a brush wildfire burning in San Francisco, California","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESmoke cloud rising from a brush wildfire burning in San Francisco, California (Source: Adobe Stock)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1747666088","gmt_created":"2025-05-19 14:48:08","changed":"1748362103","gmt_changed":"2025-05-27 16:08:23","alt":"Smoke cloud rising from a brush wildfire burning in San Francisco, California","file":{"fid":"260954","name":"AdobeStock_914702372.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/05\/19\/AdobeStock_914702372.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/05\/19\/AdobeStock_914702372.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6460687,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/05\/19\/AdobeStock_914702372.jpeg?itok=3rkxwwZC"}}},"media_ids":["677090"],"groups":[{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStory Written by: Silke Schmidt\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E || Research Communications Program Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}