Open technology to serve people and the planet
Rhiza Research is a nonprofit that seeks out data, technology, and technical capacity gaps and develops creative, open, and accessible technical solutions to fill those gaps. We are dedicated to working on projects that we believe will have a positive impact on the well-being of ecosystems and communities, from electric grids to weather forecasting, from ecology to music.
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The Power EQuality InitiativeOver the past decades, sweeping efforts have been made to ensure global access to electricity. However, in much of the world, even those with access to electricity still receive electricity with poor reliability and quality. This lack of quality undermines the proposed benefits of electrification in homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals and also makes it much more difficult for utilities to transition their grids to cleaner energy. The Power EQuality Initiative aims to highlight and act on the global disparity of access to high-quality electricity. Rhiza Research is building a community to address the problem of power inequality, hosting a series of lectures, and directly working to create an open power quality analysis toolkit to increase the accessibility and impact of power quality measurement worldwide. We will roll out an open-source power quality measurement device, release a library of high-resolution standards-compliant power quality data, and work with manufacturers to integrate measurement capabilities into existing grid-connected devices like smart meters and inverters. |
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The SheerWater Project: Equity in Weather IntelligenceWeather intelligence—the use short, medium, and long-term forecasts for improved decision-making in critical sectors including agriculture and energy—is increasingly vital in the face of unprecedented changes in weather and climate. However, the availability of localized, high-quality forecasts is not equitable around the world; regions that are unable to make large investments in specialized measurement equipment or computational resources suffer from disparities in forecast quality, actionability, and usability. Insipired by the shearwater bird, which leverages a remarkable understanding of atmospheric dynamics on its transequatorial migrations around the globe, the SheerWater Project aims to address global inequity in weather intelligence. Leveraging strong partnerships in Kenya, and funded by the Gates Foundation, Rhiza Research is working to provide innovative technical solutions to improve weather intelligence in East Africa, with a focus on providing actionable insights for small holder farmers. In collaboration with Lester Mackey (MSR), Soukayna Mouatadid (University of Toronto), Judah Cohen (AER), and Paulo Orenstein (IMPA), and building on previous work in benchmarking for subseasonal forecasting. |
Board Chair • Executive Director
Board Member • Principal Scientist
Principal Engineer
Board Member • Executive Advisor
Board Member • Postdoc at ETH Zurich
Board Member • Associate Teaching Professor of Law at Michigan Technological University