Bring us a problem where limited resources have to go further. Here is the kind of work we have done, and what we could do with you. To start, email us; the address is at the bottom of this page.
Companies and industry
Could AI data centers get power sooner by building their own generation and batteries while staying on the grid? We modeled it. AI Data Center Energy
We grind spent lithium-ion cells into black mass and test ways to recover the metals, with UTA chemists. Battery Recycling
We turn RFID tag reads into records people act on, tested on lab equipment and naloxone-kit tracking. RFID
Have a supply chain, a facility or a fleet of assets you need to see and optimize? We can model it, prototype the tracking and test it, as sponsored research or a student project.
Utilities, agencies and cities
How will Texas’s changing grid ripple into factories, cars and electricity prices? Energy Systems
Where, and at what hour, would batteries help the Texas grid most? Texas Grid Dashboard
How could scarce COVID-19 treatments reach Houston’s most vulnerable neighborhoods first? COVID-19 Last-Mile Distribution
For the City of Dallas: a weatherization pilot and a study of its pavement repair queue.
Planning a program, a siting decision or an investment? We build the model, run the scenarios and show who benefits.
Faculty and researchers, at UTA and beyond
An NSF Research Experiences for Teachers site, where K-12 teachers evaluate green building designs RET: Green Building
A Lemelson Foundation grant helping faculty in any discipline weave sustainability into their courses Engineering for One Planet
Summer work with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on grid-interactive buildings NREL
Need an optimization, supply chain or energy systems partner on a proposal, or a testbed? We team up on projects and grants with faculty and with industry.
Students: join the lab
PhD students lead dissertations on ERCOT transmission planning, small-scale lithium recycling and critical mineral supply chains.
MS students have co-authored papers on GIS analytics and geothermal mapping; four built a Lego assembly line for teaching industrial engineering and presented it at IISE 2025.
Undergraduates have published on solar panel degradation using the lab’s own microgrid data.
Undergraduates: research experience, including REU and UROP positions that come with stipends
MS students: research assistant roles; scholarships that can bring out-of-state tuition waivers; stipends when the budget allows. GEM and other fellows are especially welcome.
PhD students: a strong stipend, full tuition and benefits
Dr. Jones is a National GEM Consortium alumnus and UTA’s GEM representative, and helps students from all backgrounds become GEM Fellows, with a stipend, tuition support and internships.
Why work with us
Everything we do starts with data-driven decision making: turning measurements, records and models into choices about where limited resources should go. We bring it to all three layers of infrastructure.
Physical: experiments and prototypes, from battery recycling and second-life-battery microgrids to RFID system and tag testing
Digital: data processing, analysis and computational modeling, from energy and supply chain models to surrogate optimization, simulation, GIS, LCA and TEA
Institutional: working with agencies, utilities, companies and communities, and studying how they enable innovation and growth
Our testbeds include the lab’s rooftop solar array, a water heater and HVAC data testbed, a microgrid built with second-life batteries, and RFID equipment with UTA’s RAID Lab. See all our capabilities.
Get in touch
Email Dr. Jones at erick.jones@uta.edu. Tell us who you are and what you have in mind. Students: include your program, your interests and a link to your résumé or LinkedIn.