PhD Candidate Mofan Zhang Presents at Cornell EWRS Seminar

---

On April 8, 2025, PhD candidate Mofan Zhang presented her research at Cornell University’s Energy & Water Resources Systems (EWRS) Spring Seminar Series. Offered for credit as CEE 6021, this invitation-only seminar brings together faculty and graduate students working at the intersection of energy, water, and environment systems for discussions on cutting-edge research.

Mofan’s talk, titled “Learning About Climate to Improve Water Adaptive Planning,” introduced Bayesian Direct Policy Search (Bayesian DPS), a novel framework that integrates Bayesian learning into infrastructure decision-making under climate uncertainty. She demonstrated how Bayesian DPS enables infrastructure systems—like water supply and energy capacity portfolios—to adapt more proactively to evolving climate and technology conditions, improving reliability while reducing cost.

The talk sparked a rich discussion on the importance of learning-driven planning in long-lived infrastructure systems—a core concern in the face of uncertain climate change.