Evolved Welcomes this Year's Summer Fellows
Our Summer Fellows have launched their respective research projects: developing an agent-based EV model, and forecasting in the era of data centers. Welcome aboard!
Meet Our Summer Fellows: Ari Ball-Burack & Elan Trager
We’re excited to welcome two exceptional fellows to Evolved Energy Research this summer! Ari Ball-Burack and Elan Trager are bringing deep curiosity, technical expertise, and a passion for decarbonization to the EER team. Learn more below about the cutting-edge work they’ll be doing with us.
Ari, left, and Elan, right, both join us from UC Berkeley.
Ari Ball-Burack
Ari is a second-year PhD student in the Energy & Resources Group at UC Berkeley, advised by Dr. Daniel Kammen. His research focuses on using data and computational tools to inform effective decarbonization policy. Ari’s recent work spans global and national decarbonization policy interactions, distributional equity in EV charging infrastructure, and representations of consumer adoption in multi-sector energy system models.
This summer, Ari is developing an agent-based model of electric vehicle (EV) adoption in California. By simulating household-level decision-making—shaped by cost, technology, social influence, and infrastructure—his model aims to illuminate how public policy can accelerate EV uptake and interact with broader energy system dynamics.
Ari holds a degree in Computer Science and Physics from Williams College and earned MPhil degrees in Advanced Computer Science and Environmental Policy from the University of Cambridge. Prior to Berkeley, he was a researcher at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Elan Trager
Elan is a rising senior at UC Berkeley, double-majoring in Environmental Economics and Data Science. He brings experience in economic modeling, corporate sustainability, and climate consulting—and when he’s not thinking about decarbonization, you’ll find him rock climbing, hiking, or deep into a podcast.
At EER, Elan is diving into one of the most pressing topics in the energy world: data centers. His project explores how regulators and utilities can design tariffs and improve forecasting to integrate fast-growing data center loads—without shifting undue costs to ratepayers or compromising climate goals. Elan’s work includes a literature review of current tariff designs and interviews with industry experts to explore novel rate designs. This project will deliver a practical framework to evaluate and implement equitable, reliable data center policies.
We’re thrilled to have Ari and Elan on board and look forward to sharing more about their work over the summer!
