Rachael M Alfant, PhD
I am a postdoc at Sandia National Laboratories specializing in optimization and operations research for power grid planning. I received my PhD in Computational Mathematics & Operations Research at Rice University.
Contact info
- Email: ralfant [at] alumni.rice.edu
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-alfant/
Recent News
- I will be giving a talk at the ICERM Workshop on Asynchronous Methods for Numerical Linear Algebra in May!
- I gave a talk on optimization for power grids at the Rising Stars in Computational and Data Sciences Workshop in April.
- I chaired an invited session and gave a talk about extreme day selection for electricity grid capacity expansion planning at the INFORMS Optimization Society Conference in March.
- I gave a talk about power grid resiliency at the USACM Energy & Earth Systems TTA Seminar in November.
Education
- Ph.D. Computational Mathematics & Operations Research, Rice University, May 2024
- M.A. Computational & Applied Mathematics, Rice University, May 2022
- B.A. Mathematics (General Honors), University of Chicago, March 2018
Publications
- R. M. Alfant, J.K. Skolfield, N.D. Jackson, C.L. Doyle, T.R. Edwards. Selecting Key Days for Electricity Grid Capacity Expansion Planning Considering Resilience to Compound Hazards. In prep.
- R. M. Alfant, Z. Kilwein, M. Viens, G. Stinchfield, W. Hart. Stochastic Programming And Related Optimization Workflows (SPAROW): A Python Package for Modeling and Solving Stochastic Programs with Pyomo. In prep.
- Z. Kilwein, R. M. Alfant, M. Viens, W. Hart. Performant Optimization Strategies for Multifidelity Stochastic Programs on Power Grid Applications. In prep.
- Z. Kilwein, R. M. Alfant, W. Hart. Challenges of Neural Networks in Generalizing Optimal Power Flow Solutions Across Diverse Power Grid Topologies. Submitted for publication.
- T. Gunda, R. Valdez, Z. Kilwein, R. M. Alfant, J.K. Skolfield, R. Adams, N.D. Jackson. Wiring Resilience: Metrics for a Weather-Adapted Cyber-Physical Grid. Submitted for publication.
- R. M. Alfant, J.K. Skolfield, N.D. Jackson, T.R. Edwards (2025). Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning for Resilience to Compound Hazards. 2025 Resilience Week (RWS), National Harbor, MD, USA, p.1-8. https://doi.org/10.1109/RWS66711.2025.11304451.
- Z. Kilwein, R. M. Alfant, W. Hart (2025). Accelerating Stochastic Unit Commitment with Multifidelity Scenario Bundling. 2025 57th North American Power Symposium (NAPS), Storrs, CT, USA, p.1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/NAPS66256.2025.11272380.
- R.M. Alfant, T. Ajayi, A.J. Schaefer (2023). Evaluating Mixed-Integer Programming Models over Multiple Right-hand Sides. Operations Research Letters, 51(4), 414-420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orl.2023.05.004.
- R.M. Alfant (2022). “To My Younger Self”: Bridging the Mentorship Gap for Underrepresented Students. INFORMS Diversity Community Blog. https://connect.informs.org/diversity/diversity-blog/bridging-mentor-gap.
Open-Source Software
- SPAROW: Stochastic Programming And Related Optimization Workflows, Main Development Team, Python.
- SPAROW Examples, Main Development Team, Python.
- nnopf: Neural Networks for Optimal Power Flow, Contributor, Python.
- DSP: Decomposition of Structured Programs, Contributor: Multistage Stochastic Programming, Julia.
Research Experience
- Postdoctoral Appointee, Sandia National Laboratories: Center for Computing Research, Current
- Visiting Graduate Student, Argonne National Laboratory: Mathematics & Computer Science Division, Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
- Givens Associate PhD Intern, Argonne National Laboratory: Mathematics & Computer Science Division, Summer 2022
- Research Assistant, University of Chicago: Booth School of Business, Summer 2019
- Research Assistant, University of Chicago: Dept. of Public Health Sciences, Summer 2018
Selected Awards and Honors
- Outstanding Graduate Student Research Poster - Honorable Mention, AWM-SIAM OP23 Poster Session, June 2023
- Best Poster Award (tied), AWM-SIAM AN22 Poster Session, July 2022
- Student Chapter Award for Scientific Excellence, Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM), June 2022
- Sallyport Award Nominee, Association of Rice Alumni, Apr 2022
- Robert Lowry Patten Award for Service & Achievement, Rice Graduate Student Association, Apr 2021
- Honorable Mention, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship Program, Mar 2021
- Undergraduate Summer Research Grant, University of Chicago, June 2018
Selected Presentations
- Selecting Key Days for Electricity Grid Capacity Expansion Planning Considering Resilience to Compound Hazards
- Invited talk, INFORMS Optimization Society Conference, Atlanta, GA, Mar 2026
- SPAROW: Enabling Performant Optimization of Stochastic Programs for Power Grid Planning
- Invited talk, INFORMS Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, Oct 2025
- Performant Optimization of Power Systems: Resiliency, Operations, and Planning
- Invited talk, USACM Energy & Earth Systems TTA Seminar, Livermore, CA, Oct 2025
- Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning for Resilience to Compound Hazards
- Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twins for Earth Systems Workshop: Poster Session, Austin, TX, Sept 2025
- Multistage Stochastic Mixed Integer Programming Using Decomposition of Structured Programs (DSP)
- SIAM Conference on Optimization: Association for Women in Math Poster Session, Seattle, WA, June 2023
- Texas Women in Math Symposium, Austin, TX, Mar 2023
- Rice University Department of Computational and Applied Math Graduate Seminar, Houston, TX, Feb 2023
- Summer Argonne Students Symposium, Lemont, IL, Aug 2022
- Periodicity of MIP Gap Functions
- Joint Mathematics Meetings: AWM Poster Session, Jan 2024
- ICERM - Trends in Computational Discrete Optimization: Poster Session, May 2023
- SIAM Annual Meeting (AN22): AWM Poster Session, July 2022
- Mixed Integer Programming Workshop: Poster Session, June 2022
Teaching
- Instructor of Record, Rice Emerging Scholars Program
- Differential Calculus, Summer 2023
- Teaching Assistant, Rice University: Industrial Engineering Master’s Program
- INDE 501: Fundamentals of Industrial Engineering, Fall 2022
- INDE 597: Revenue Management & Dynamic Pricing, Fall 2022
- INDE 572: Stochastic Processes & Simulation, Spring 2022
- Teaching Assistant, Rice University: Dept. of Computational & Applied Mathematics
- CAAM 378: Intro to Optimization & Operations Research, Fall 2021, Spring 2023
- Teaching Assistant, University of Chicago
- Chicago Academic Achievement Program, Honors Calculus with Proofs, Summer 2016/2018 (Evaluations: 4.8/5.0)
- College Core Tutoring Program, Calculus & Linear Algebra, Winter 2017
- Dept. of Mathematics, Math 131-132-133: Introduction to Calculus, Fall 2015-2016
Selected Service
- Forum for Women in Operations Research/Management Science (WORMS)
- Jr. VP of Mentoring & Outreach (Jan 2026 - Current)
- Mentoring & Outreach Liaison (Jan 2023 - Dec 2025)
- Computing in Science & Engineering
- Reviewer (May 2025 - Current)
- INFORMS
- Invited Session Chair (Oct 2025, Mar 2026)
- Session Chair (Oct 2023)
- Rice Dept. of CAAM
- Graduate Seminar Chair (Aug 2022 - Apr 2023)
- Graduate Advisory Committee Member (June 2020 - Dec 2022)
- Rice Chapter of AWM
- Vice President (Feb 2021 - Apr 2022), Secretary (Jan 2020 - Feb 2021)
- Organizing Committees: Texas Women in Math Symposium (Feb 2020 - Feb 2022), Rice AWM Math Nights & Freshman Math Mentorship Program (Aug 2020 - Jan 2022)
- Rice Chapter of SIAM
- President (Aug 2020 - Aug 2021), Secretary (Aug 2019 - Aug 2020)
- University of Chicago Young Scholars Program
- Teaching Assistant Volunteer (Jan 2015 - Mar 2017)