New cohort of CBI fellows: Meet Hanif Tayarani

My name is Hanif Tayarani, and I am thrilled to join Carnegie Mellon University as a Carnegie Bosch Institute postdoctoral fellow. I earned my Ph.D. in Transportation Technology and Policy from the University of California, Davis, where my research focused on using electric vehicles to advance sustainable transportation and decarbonize both the transportation and energy systems, which are two of the main contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. At CMU, I will be working with Professor Jeremy J. Michalek, director of CMU’s Vehicle Electrification Group.

1. What are your long term goals?

My long-term goals include advancing sustainable transportation and accelerating the decarbonization of both the transportation and energy systems, which are two of the main contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. I aim to develop data-driven tools that help policymakers design effective strategies for large scale vehicle grid integration (VGI) and clean energy transition. VGI is important because electric vehicles act as a catalyst for connecting these two sectors, which enables cleaner power generation and more sustainable mobility. Through the CBI fellowship program, I plan to enhance these modeling frameworks so they can evaluate policy options, guide infrastructure investment, and support the shift toward a low-carbon energy future.

2. How do you hope this fellowship will help address those goals?

The CBI fellowship program provides an ideal environment that combines academic research with industry collaboration, both of which are necessary for achieving my goals. Through mentorship from leading CMU faculty and access to Bosch’s technical and analytical resources, I will improve my expertise in modeling and optimization while applying my research to real-world energy and transportation systems. The program’s emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration will help me connect insights from engineering, policy, and data science to address the challenges of large-scale electric vehicle integration. The fellowship’s support for conferences and international engagement will also extend my professional network and accelerate the translation of research outcomes into actionable policy solutions.

3. What are the big challenges you hope to solve?

One of the biggest challenges I hope to solve is translating technical research into actionable policies that accelerate the clean energy transition. Policymakers often face uncertainty about how emerging technologies, such as vehicle grid integration systems or smart charging strategies, will perform at scale. My research focuses on closing this gap by developing modeling tools that allow policymakers to test different policy designs and assess their impacts before implementation. These tools can simulate how various incentives or regulations influence driver behavior, grid performance, and emissions.

Addressing this challenge will help bridge the gap between research and policy, which ensures that future decisions are informed by data and grounded in real world feasibility.

4. Any obstacles you see in addressing the problems?

There are several obstacles in aligning research, technology, and policy. Data gaps remain significant because electric vehicles are an emerging technology with limited long-term behavioral data. Policy uncertainty also complicates planning, as priorities can shift across administrations. To address this, modeling tools must be flexible and adaptable to changing assumptions and policy targets. Additionally, behavioral variability and grid diversity across regions require scalable, data driven frameworks that capture both technical and social dimensions of the transition.

5. How do you hope to see the impact of this work in the world?

I hope my work will inform smarter, evidence based policies that accelerate the transition to sustainable transportation and energy systems. The outcome of my research can help reduce GHG emissions, lower the operating costs of energy systems, and improve energy resilience by helping policymakers and utilities design effective electric vehicle charging and grid integration strategies.