Erick Jones

Erick Jones is a Ph.D. Candidate in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University. As an undergraduate, Erick researched growth mechanisms of single-walled carbon nanotubes. From there, he spent several years working in the design, manufacturing, oil and gas, and HVAC industries. These experiences motivated Erick to pursue research that can enhance quality of life by improving access to sustainable resources, particularly where a lack of physical infrastructure or economic resources presents a major obstacle. In his research, Erick develops integrated assessment tools to analyze how energy systems, water resources, supply chains, urban space, and transportation networks operate in concert to influence economic and environmental well-being. Since Fall 2019, Erick has been an NRT Fellow in the NSF Research Traineeship program on food-energy-water systems at UT and in the Summer of 2020 received the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship from the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy to support his research with Los Alamos National Laboratory on the SimCCS tool for CCS infrastructure optimization. Erick also participates in education and outreach activities through the Planet Texas 2050 initiative, INFORMS, GEC, and Science in Residence, which encourages K-12 students to think about climate change and other STEM issues.