Achievement

IGERT student Robert Swain is using crowd-sourcing to generate new and useful hypotheses about the causes of energy inefficiencies. This is done using online social networks in which participants answer and ask questions of one another; using computer models to find patterns in the data that result; and communicating the results using visualization. To date, we have developed a web site called "energyminder.net" which is currently being integrated into the energy efficiency program, and connected to the smart metering system in the city of Burlington, Vermont. In parallel, we have tested and refined the methods underlying energyminder.net and used them to generate new hypotheses about obesity. A journal paper on these results has been submitted.