Ilan M. L. Upfal
Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT
Parsons Lab, MIT
Cambridge, MA
I’m a Ph.D. candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, working in the Howland Lab on the physics and modeling of renewable energy systems. My research applies fluid mechanics to energy conversion, from wind turbines and rotors in confined flows to shape-morphing oscillating-foil turbines, and to control co-design of wind plants that reduces their land footprint. It combines experiments, analytical modeling, and optimization, and much of it is released as open-source code. Previously, I interned at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
In energy debates, what counts as possible is too often decided by special interests rather than the common interest, and promising options get dismissed as “technically infeasible” before anyone checks the physics. I’m driven to bring engineering to the table and redefine what’s possible for an affordable, clean energy future. Because technology and economics shape each other, I’m especially interested in how better physical models can make clean energy systems more affordable, and in how that knowledge can inform the policies that deploy them. Alongside research, I’ve managed a winning state senate campaign, written about equitable, low-carbon transportation, and been a climate organizer with the Sunrise Movement.
Outside of work, I love to row on the Charles River with the MIT Rowing Club and go road cycling out in beautiful Western MA.
