Thulasi Ram Khamma is a PhD candidate in Architecture Technology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He holds a Master of Science in Statistics and Master of Architecture degrees from UIUC and Bachelor of Architecture degree from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India. With a multidisciplinary academic and professional backgrounds in Architecture, Building Energy, Statistics and Real estate, Ram is engaged in developing data-driven solutions and strategies to mitigate the pressing issue of global Green House Gas emissions. His work is primarily focused on improving building energy performance, modelling on-site renewable energy systems and developing energy procurement strategies for large commercial real estate portfolios.
Ram was an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps fellow in 2016, 2017 and 2018. In 2018 at JPMorgan Chase (JPMC), New York, he performed a sophisticated analysis of the behaviour of electricity prices across several wholesale hubs in the United States using statistical methods to support the firm’s energy procurement strategies. In 2017 at JPMC, he developed tools and methodologies to evaluate the technical and financial feasibility of on-site renewable energy systems at their commercial portfolio through advanced data analytics. In 2016 at Zeller Realty Group, Chicago, he analyzed energy interval data across the portfolio to evaluate energy performance. He also worked as a Building energy specialist at Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC), where he performed several building energy audits and Retro-commissioning projects. He is a licensed architect in India where he designed sustainable hospitality and residential projects.
In his current research, Ram focuses on intertwining fields of architectural design, building energy and data analytics, to address energy performance gaps in office buildings arising out of design, construction and operation phases.