Saptarshi Bhattacharya

Researcher in cyber-physical power and energy systems, optimization, controls, building energy systems, marine energy, storage, and energy resilience.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory · Optimization & Control Group
sbhattacharya.ecse@gmail.com · Google Scholar · ORCiD · LinkedIn
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Recent News

  • 2026: Paper on predictive device-level control of water source heat pumps published in Energy and Buildings.
  • 2025: Contributed to technical studies on wildfire resilience, energy storage planning, and regional interconnections.
  • 2025: Presented work on nature-based solutions for resilient energy infrastructure at AGU Fall Meeting.
  • 2024: Research on ASEAN regional interconnections and renewable energy planning featured in The Straits Times.
  • 2024: Received Highly Cited Paper Award from Advances in Applied Energy.

About

I am a research staff member at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory working at the intersection of power systems, building energy systems, optimization, controls, and energy resilience. My work develops analytical, computational, and data-driven methods for planning and operating modern energy systems under uncertainty, high penetration of intermittent energy resources, and emerging demand-side flexibility.

Power & Energy SystemsPlanning and operation of power systems, storage, transmission, and emerging grid-interactive resources.
Buildings & ControlsPredictive and learning-enabled controls for heat pumps, HVAC, and grid-interactive buildings.
Marine Energy & ResilienceGrid integration, coastal energy resilience, marine renewables, and marine carbon dioxide removal systems.

Research Interests

  • Design, operation, and planning of cyber-physical power and energy systems.
  • Advanced controls and optimization for building energy systems.
  • Energy markets, economics, policy, and transactive energy systems.
  • Modeling, optimization, and control of dynamical systems.
  • Data-driven energy analytics and simulation-based performance evaluation.
  • Marine energy, long-duration energy storage, resilience, and flexible grid-interactive resources.

Power systems Optimization Controls Buildings Marine energy Energy storage Transactive energy

Education

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering · Aug. 2012–Aug. 2018

  • Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering.
  • Dissertation: Decision Analytics in Energy Systems: from Thermal Grids to Power Grids.
  • Recognized with the Allen B. DuMont Prize and Karen and Lester Gerhardt Prize.

M.S. in Electrical Engineering · Aug. 2012–Dec. 2014

  • Thesis: Extended Second Price Auctions for Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging in Smart Grid.
  • Research focus: smart grid optimization, auction-based coordination, and electric vehicle charging.

West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata, India

B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering · Jul. 2008–Jun. 2012

  • Department of Electrical Engineering, Techno India.
  • Gold Medal, Department of Electrical Engineering.

Professional Experience

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Research Staff Member, Optimization & Control Group · 2018–present

  • Developing predictive advanced controls for heat pumps and building energy systems.
  • Characterizing the role of long-duration energy storage in capacity expansion planning.
  • Evaluating marine energy opportunities for power system operations, resilience, and coastal communities.
  • Leading and contributing to interdisciplinary DOE-funded research projects, proposals, and collaborations.

Oregon State University

Adjunct Faculty, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science · 2023–present

IBM Research

Ph.D. Research Intern · 2015 and 2016

  • Worked on demand response algorithms for district heating networks and co-invented a thermal fairness demand response architecture.

Selected Projects

Grid Value of Marine Energy

Assessment of marine renewable energy integration for bulk power operations, islanded systems, distribution resilience, and coastal community energy needs.

Predictive Heat Pump Controls

Development and experimental validation of predictive device-level controls for integrated heat pump systems and multi-family residential buildings.

Long-Duration Energy Storage Planning

Capacity expansion and resilience analysis for storage technologies under high renewable penetration and extreme event scenarios.

Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal

Energy optimization and techno-economic analysis for bipolar membrane electrodialysis systems as flexible grid-interactive resources.

Selected Publications

Representative publications are listed below. See the full publications section for the complete CV-style list.

  • S. Bhattacharya et al., “On Predictive Device-level Control of Water Source Heat Pumps for Multi-Family Residential Buildings,” Energy and Buildings, 2026.
  • K. Oikonomou, P. R. Maloney, S. Bhattacharya, et al., “Energy Storage Planning for Enhanced Resilience of Power Systems under Extreme Events,” Journal of Energy Storage, 2025.
  • X. Lu, V. Adetola, and S. Bhattacharya, “Large-scale Simulation-based Parametric Analysis of an Optimal Precooling Strategy for Demand Flexibility in a Commercial Office Building,” Energy and Buildings, 2024.
  • A. Peerzada, S. Hanif, B. Tarekegne, D. Baldwin, and S. Bhattacharya, “On the Impact of Tidal Generation and Energy Storage Integration in PV-rich Electric Distribution Systems,” Applied Energy, 2023.
  • K. Z. Akdemir et al., “Opportunities for Wave Energy Integration in Bulk Power System Operations,” Applied Energy, 2023.
  • S. Bhattacharya, T. Ramachandran, A. Somani, and D. Hammerstrom, “Impacts of Energy Flexibility in Transactive Energy Systems with Large Scale Renewable Generation,” IEEE Access, 2022.

Full Publications

For citation metrics and the most up-to-date publication record, see my Google Scholar profile. Google Scholar contains the most up-to-date citation and publication information.

Manuscripts under Preparation / Submission

  1. S2. S. Bhattacharya, C. Subban, J. Loretz, M. Leonard, and N. Ward, “Bipolar Membrane Electrodialyzers as Flexible Demand Response Resource: Co-Optimization of Energy Cost Savings and Product Formation,” in preparation.
  2. S1. S. Bhattacharya, O. Anderson, P. Maloney, J. Holzer, K. Oikonomou, and D. Wu, “Comparative Assessments for Transmission and Storage Investments in Power Systems Expansion Planning,” journal paper in preparation.

Book Chapters, Thesis, and Dissertations

  1. B3. D. Bhatnagar, D. Preziuso, R. O’Neil, J. Alam, S. Bhattacharya, and S. Hanif, “Power Generation from Tides and Waves,” The Palgrave Book of International Energy Economics, Chapter 12, Palgrave McMillan, pp. 195–212, 2022.
  2. B2. S. Bhattacharya, “Decision Analytics in Energy Systems: from Thermal Grids to Power Grids,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2018.
  3. B1. S. Bhattacharya, “Extended Second Price Auctions for Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging in Smart Grid,” M.S. Thesis, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2014.

Journal Articles

  1. J21. S. Bhattacharya, S. A. R. Naqvi, M. Liu, V. Adetola, S. Munns, K. Phalak, C. Calfa, Z. O’Neil, and Z. Guo, “On Predictive Device-level Control of Water Source Heat Pumps for Multi-Family Residential Buildings,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 351, 116668, 2026.
  2. J20. K. Oikonomou, P. R. Maloney, S. Bhattacharya, J. T. Holzer, O. Anderson, X. Ke, J. Westman, C. D. Burleyson, S. Datta, J. B. Twitchell, and D. Wu, “Energy Storage Planning for Enhanced Resilience of Power Systems under Extreme Events,” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 119, 116074, 2025.
  3. J19. X. Lu, V. Adetola, and S. Bhattacharya, “Large-scale Simulation-based Parametric Analysis of an Optimal Precooling Strategy for Demand Flexibility in a Commercial Office Building,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 316, 114284, 2024.
  4. J18. S. Huang, B. Huang, X. Ma, S. Bhattacharya, A. Bhattacharya, D. Vrabie, and J. Lian, “Unveiling Overlooked Aspects of Model Predictive Control for Building Cooling and Heating Systems,” Journal of Building Performance Simulation, vol. 17, pp. 510–525, 2024.
  5. J17. A. Peerzada, S. Hanif, B. Tarekegne, D. Baldwin, and S. Bhattacharya, “On the Impact of Tidal Generation and Energy Storage Integration in PV-rich Electric Distribution Systems,” Applied Energy, vol. 357, 122466, 2023.
  6. J16. K. Z. Akdemir, B. Robertson, K. Oikonomou, J. Kern, N. Voisin, S. Hanif, and S. Bhattacharya, “Opportunities for Wave Energy Integration in Bulk Power System Operations,” Applied Energy, vol. 352, 121845, 2023.
  7. J15. S. A. R. Naqvi, K. Kar, S. Bhattacharya, V. Chandan, S. Mishra, and T. Salsbury, “Air Quality and Comfort Constrained Energy Efficient Operation of Multi-Zone Buildings,” Building and Environment, vol. 244, 110716, 2023.
  8. J14. K. Kazimierczuk, C. Henderson, K. Duffy, S. Hanif, S. Bhattacharya, S. Biswas, E. Jacroux, D. Preziuso, D. Bhatnagar, and B. Tarekegne, “A Socio-technical Assessment of Marine Renewable Energy Potential in Coastal Communities,” Energy Research & Social Science, vol. 100, 2023.
  9. J13. H. Sharma, S. Bhattacharya, S. Kundu, and V. Adetola, “On the Impacts of Occupancy Sensing on Advanced Model Predictive Control in Commercial Buildings,” Building and Environment, vol. 222, 2022.
  10. J12. S. Pennock, D. Coles, A. Angeloudis, S. Bhattacharya, and H. Jeffrey, “Temporal Complementarity of Marine Renewables with Wind and Solar Generation: Implications for GB System Benefits,” Applied Energy, vol. 319, 2022.
  11. J11. X. Lu, S. Bhattacharya, H. Sharma, and V. Adetola, “Sensor Impact Evaluation in Commercial Buildings: the Case of Occupancy-Centric Controls,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 267, 2022.
  12. J10. S. A. R. Naqvi, K. Kar, S. Bhattacharya, and V. Chandan, “Peak Power Minimization for Commercial Thermostatically Controlled Loads in Multi-Unit Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings,” IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 998–1010, 2022.
  13. J9. S. Bhattacharya, T. Ramachandran, A. Somani, and D. Hammerstrom, “Impacts of Energy Flexibility in Transactive Energy Systems with Large Scale Renewable Generation,” IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 14870–14879, 2022.
  14. J8. S. Bhattacharya, S. Pennock, B. Robertson, S. Hanif, et al., “Timing Value Characterization of Marine Energy Resources for Bulk Grid Operations,” Applied Energy, vol. 299, 2021.
  15. J7. Y. Bae, S. Bhattacharya, B. Cui, et al., “Sensor Impacts on Building and HVAC Controls: A Critical Review for Building Energy Performance,” Advances in Applied Energy, vol. 4, 2021.
  16. J6. L. Zhang, M. Leach, Y. Bae, B. Cui, S. Bhattacharya, et al., “Sensor Impact Evaluation and Verification for Fault Detection and Diagnostics in Building Energy Systems: A Review,” Advances in Applied Energy, vol. 3, 2021.
  17. J5. S. Bhattacharya, Y. Chen, S. Huang, and D. L. Vrabie, “A Learning-based Framework for Time-efficient Building Performance Evaluation,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 228, 2020.
  18. J4. S. Bhattacharya, A. Gupta, K. Kar, and A. Owusu, “Risk Mitigation of Solar Power Producers by Co-dependencies in Cash Flows,” European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 283, pp. 1081–1093, 2020.
  19. J3. S. Bhattacharya, K. Kar, and J. H. Chow, “Economic Operation of Thermostatic Loads under Time Varying Prices: An Optimal Control Approach,” IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 1960–1970, 2019.
  20. J2. S. Bhattacharya, V. Chandan, V. Arya, and K. Kar, “Demand Response for Thermal Fairness in District Heating Networks,” IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 865–875, 2019.
  21. J1. S. Bhattacharya, K. Kar, J. H. Chow, and A. Gupta, “Extended Second Price Auctions with Elastic Supply for PEV Charging in the Smart Grid,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 2082–2093, 2016.

Honors and Awards

  • Highly Cited Paper Award, Advances in Applied Energy, 2024.
  • PNNL Pathway to Excellence Award for patent contributions, 2023.
  • PNNL Outstanding Performance Awards for contributions and leadership across multiple projects, 2021–2025.
  • Allen B. DuMont Prize and Karen and Lester Gerhardt Prize for doctoral dissertation, RPI, 2019.
  • Best Prototype Award, GE Global Research Student Research Summit, 2013.
  • Gold Medal, Department of Electrical Engineering, Techno India, 2012.

Contact

Email: sbhattacharya.ecse@gmail.com
Phone: +1 (732) 809-9976
Links: Google Scholar · ORCiD · LinkedIn