Student Spotlight: Tasya Nasoetion

Tasya Nasoetion received the 2026 - 2027 TEX-E Fellowship and MKOPSC Harry West Memorial Scholarship.   Read further to learn more about her motivation for research and her advice to current graduate students.

What motivates you about your research?

Thousands of electric vehicles were recalled in previous years due to risk of thermal runaway and my research aims to solve this problem by designing a safety-intelligent advanced controller for battery operations called battery safety management system. My research is highly interdisciplinary as it integrates process safety, electrochemistry, and process optimization and controls. Solving the problem of managing the risk of thermal runaway for electric vehicles would increase consumer confidence in electric vehicles and thus accelerate the transition towards sustainable transportation.

What is your favorite aspect about the PhD experience so far?

My favorite aspect about my PhD experience is being immersed in the highly collaborative nature of research. I am developing a safety-intelligent controller to add to a battery management system and worked with an electrical engineer major to set up the hardware. As I design dynamic risk calculations for dependent safety critical variables, I am working on process safety and statistical methods. Furthermore, developing a safety intelligent controller that is cognizant of indicators of thermal runaway in lithium ion batteries require both physics based modeling methods and data driven methods such as deep learning. It’s exciting to combine different topics to develop new understanding and process control methods for a safer and more efficient process.

What advice do you have for current graduate students?

Thrive with the fact that a PhD is a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy the academic marathon training: (1) consistency over intensity is critical (i.e., continue to make steady progress in your research, and create a structured, steady schedule for experiments, reading, and writing because this is better than occasional long, intense research sessions, which can lead to burnout); (2) fuel and rest are equally important as part of the training (i.e., healthy food and exercise add up to peak performance); (3) enjoy the views and opportunities in between research (i.e., don't be afraid to ask questions of the many engineers and professionals you meet along your journey, and diversify your activities outside of research); (4) know your "why" (e.g., I keep a vision board to stay on track toward finishing my PhD) ; and (5) celebrate small milestones (i.e., celebrate finishing a set of experiments, hitting a writing goal, etc. You earned it! Less than 2% of the world hold a doctoral degree and you’re pursuing it!)

What excites you most about TEX-E? 

The Texas Exchange for Energy and Climate Entrepreneurship connects students with energy professionals for energy innovation for more energy and less emissions. I’m very excited to learn from professionals and my peers on how to innovate for more efficient energy landscape. I have always been interested in business and economics and I’m excited to learn how to translate research to minimum viable product for commercialization and hopefully have the opportunity to do so.