Abigail Mechtenberg
Assistant Teaching Professor, Physics
Research Interests
My research interests include socio-technical design research involving hybrid microgrid and vehicle power management focused within an energy, sustainable development, and climate change nexus; physics education and experimental design; global health risks associated with inaccessible, unaffordable and unreliable electricity, sustainable development involving the interconnections between health, education, and economics; renewable energy; and merging traditional with technological skills and microgrid modeling with uncertainty as well as known variability for robust design and control algorithms of power management.
Key Words
Energy Systems, Sustainable Development, Smart Grid, Hybrid Vehicle Control Optimization, Energy Education
Education
PhD in Applied Physics and MS in Physics, University of Michigan, 2004-2009
MEd in Educational Psychology, 1997-1999, University of California, Santa Barbara
BS in Physics, 1994-1997, Texas A&M University
Publications
Relevant Energy Publications
- Abigail Mechtenberg, Brady McLaughlin, Michael DiGaetano, Abigail Awodele, Leslie Omeeboh, Emmanuel Etwalu, Lydia Nanjula, Moses Musaazi, Mark Shrime, "Health care during electricity failure: The hidden costs," PLoS One. 2020 Nov 4;15(11):e0235760. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235760.
- Abigail Mechtenberg, Moses Musaazi, Nancy Senabulya, Paul Musasizi, and Emmanuel Miyingo. “Low HDI Nations’ Electricity Reliability: Hidden Energy Crises in Health Care”. Risk Analysis, 2013. [accepted upon revisions]
- Musaazi MK, Mechtenberg AR, Nakibuule J, Sensenig R, Miyingo E, Makanda JV, Hakimian A, Eckelman MJ. “Quantification of Social Equity in Life Cycle Assessment for Increased Sustainable Production of Sanitary Products in Uganda”, Journal of Cleaner Production (2013), doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.026.
- Tulga Ersal, Changsun Ahn, John Whitefoot, Abigail R. Mechtenberg, Diane L. Peters, Ian A. Hiskens, Huei Peng, Anna Stefanopoulou, Panos Y. Papalambros, Jeffrey L. Stein. “Coupling Between Component Sizing and Regulation Capability in Microgrids”. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, 2013.
- Abigail Mechtenberg, Kendra Borchers, Emmanuel Miyingo, Farhan Hormasji, Amirtha Hariharan, John Vianney Makanda, and Moses Musaazi. “Human Power (HP) as a Viable Electricity Portfolio Option below 20 W/Capita”. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2011. [Best Paper of the Year Nomination– Amulya K.N. Reddy Award; chosen as Lead Article in June 2012]
- Abigail Reid Mechtenberg. “Fuel Economy: From Niche to Status-quo Manufacturing”. SAE International Journal of Fuels and Lubricants. October 2009 vol. 2 no. 1104-117.