Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Program
Field of Specialization:	Energy
Name:	Ms. Amy Tang
Official Address:	Columbia University, Graduate School, New York
Indian Host Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Duration of Grant & Start Date :	Duration: 9 months August 2011

Brief Bio:

Ms. Amy Tang is a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Prior to her Fulbright grant, Ms. Tang researched innovative financing for renewable energy systems as part of her graduate studies. She has presented her work at the Engineering Project Organization's conference in 2010 and 2011 and during guest lectures at Columbia. Supplementing her engineering education is an internship at Hardesty and Hanover, a full service engineering firm specializing in movable bridges, as well as coursework at the business and law schools. She recently worked with a large utility company to research the market for renewable gas in the Northeast United States. She is also an avid traveler, having visited over 30 states in the U.S. and many countries across four continents. Her favorite destination will always be her hometown of Shanghai, from where she emigrated at the age of six. Ms. Tang received her B.S. in Civil Engineering with a minor in Economics from Columbia University and her M.S. in Civil Engineering also from Columbia University. As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar Ms. Tang will study the role of public-private-partnerships (PPPs) in India's growing renewable energy systems, namely wind and solar. Her research is titled as "Development of Renewable Energy Infrastructure using Public-Private-Partnerships." She will work closely with Prof. Ashwin Mahalingham of IIT Madras to review the current role of PPPs in public infrastructure. Simultaneously, her work will explore the market and political dynamics of India's energy sector. She will focus on PPPs and their role in easing the burden of high initial costs involved with renewable energy infrastructure.