Current Ph.D. Students

Margot is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Science Technology and Environmental Policy (STEP) cluster, jointly advised by Jesse Jenkins and Michael Oppenheimer. Prior to coming to Princeton, Margot received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, where she discovered a passion for energy and power systems. Now, Margot is interested in the technical and regulatory trends of transmission and power systems, both in the United States and abroad. While at the University of Washington, Margot completed three computer vision and autonomous robotics internships with the Office of Naval Research and a regional transmission planning internship with the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). In her spare time, Margot enjoys running, weight lifting, watching movies, and eating at fun restaurants.

Vivek is an incoming Ph.D. student studying natural hazards, social inequity, and urban resilience. Vivek’s previous professional and research experience is rooted in data science, statistical modeling, and policy evaluation. Vivek graduated in 2023 from UC Berkeley, with a B.A. in Economics, where he focused on developing his skills in public policy, data analysis, and inference modeling. Immediately after graduating, Vivek co-authored an academic report for the San Francisco Housing Policy and Practice Review conducted by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Under the collaboration of lawyers, scholars, and stakeholders in land use and urban planning, the team examined San Francisco’s regulatory regime and entitlement practices. Through these experiences, Vivek developed an interest in the co-production of academic research, where scholarship is a collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders working to address complex urban and environmental challenges. Also after graduating, Vivek worked in litigation consulting, where he utilized data and statistical modeling to answer questions that arise out of litigation disputes. Moving forward, Vivek’s career will be dedicated to conducting interdisciplinary research that works to improve the sustainability and resilience of urban systems. Upon graduating from Princeton SPIA, Vivek hopes to bridge the gap between scientific analysis and policy implementation in urban resilience and disaster management, whether in government, academia, or consulting dedicated to risk reduction and urban planning. Outside of research, Vivek loves to bake, cook, and be outside. He is excited to explore the Princeton community and environment.

Originally from Nigeria, Jennifer is a STEP Ph.D. student at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA). Before starting her Ph.D., she was a predoctoral research fellow at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, where she worked with the Climate Impact Lab to examine the distributional impacts of climate change across sectors, including mortality, energy, agriculture, and labor. She holds a Master of Arts in international and development economics from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Prior to Yale, she served as a research assistant through the Management Scholars Academy program at Lagos Business School and also gained professional experience at KPMG Nigeria. Jennifer is interested in evidence-based research and policy solutions for energy access, clean energy transitions, and climate change vulnerabilities in Africa. Prior to arriving in Princeton, she volunteered as Director of Programs at the Africa Economic Scholars Program, where she lead program design, mentored participants, and supported initiatives that prepare young African scholars for advanced-level policymaking and impactful public service careers.

Anderson is a Ph.D. student at the Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs. He obtained his A.M. in Regional Studies—East Asia from Harvard University, and his A.B. in Japanese Studies and Political Science from Middlebury College.

As a junior scholar of political science with a regional interest in East Asia, Anderson researches the emergent patterns of cooperation and competition in the Indo-Pacific. On a theoretical level, he is interested in explaining how political preferences originate, the mechanisms by which they are shaped, and the processes by which they may become policy therein. On the empirical side, he is interested in the mode and manner in which alliances and blocs form, the conditions under which bilateral and multilateral arrangements emerge, and the varying effects that geopolitical alignments can have on the region. His doctoral advisors are Professor G. John Ikenberry and Professor Naima Green-Riley.

Fluent in Japanese (JLPT N1) and proficient in Mandarin Chinese, Anderson is an alumnus of the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Scholarship Program (Japan/Research) and the Critical Language Scholarship Program for Advanced Japanese. He has traveled to the People's Republic of China as a visiting scholar through Peking University, and to the Republic of China as a scholar with the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Anderson draws upon this area expertise to incorporate primary source materials into his research.

An aspiring public servant, Anderson has professional experience working at every level of government. Previously, he has been with the City of Burlington (CEDO), the Vermont General Assembly (Senate), the U.S. Department of State (EAP/China), the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP/USTR-South & Central Asia), and the World Bank Group (IEG).

Yemi graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Georgetown University and received a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Cambridge. Her research interests center on group dynamics within the context of ethnic conflict in the Horn of Africa, with a particular focus on modern Ethiopian history. She is currently advised by Dr. Betsy Levy Paluck and Dr. Lacy Leigh. During her undergraduate studies, she completed a thesis examining how various forms of perceived threat influence an individual’s willingness to relinquish civil liberties. At Cambridge, her independent research explored the role of third-party mediation and its applicability in addressing Ethiopia’s internal conflicts. Prior to her graduate studies, Yemi served as an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow with Check & Connect, an intervention program dedicated to improving high school graduation rates across U.S. school districts. She has also interned at the Association for Psychological Science, worked on academic development projects in Ethiopia, and contributed as a graduate researcher to the Active and Accessible Team at the U.K.’s Department for Transport. Yemi aims to amplify underrepresented narratives and shape peacebuilding and policy strategies rooted in the local histories, identities, and lived experiences that define ethnic conflict in East Africa.