Dhruv Bhatnagar (M.S. '11)

Dhruv Bhatnagar is a member of EST&P’s first graduating class. Graduating in 2011, with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering.

Dhruv now workes in Honolulu, HI as a Demand Response Program Manager for Hawaiian Electric Company.

Before Dhruv moved to Hawaii and upon EST&P graduation, Dhruv worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities as an Energy Regulatory Analyst in Boston. His role focuses on regulatory issues related to grid modernization, emerging grid technologies and operations, and energy efficiency as they relate to the state’s electric distribution companies.

Dhruv grew up in St Louis, Missouri, and earned his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 2009. He began his career as a process engineer at Nestle where he designed and implemented manufacturing process improvements to increase throughput and process efficiency, reduce energy use, increase operator safety and reduce process waste. Looking to further his education, he began his search for degrees in energy and found that there were few that had this specific focus. What drew him to EST&P was Carnegie Mellon’s great name in engineering and a program that stood out from other schools by focusing on engineering, economics and policy.

At EST&P, he was happy to find that the program fostered a collaborative atmosphere, and found that to be one of the most beneficial parts of his education. “It’s how it works in the real world” he said. One of the projects he remembers most fondly is one he worked on in his Energy Systems Modeling course. He and another classmate analyzed a computer model of a coal plant with carbon capture. They looked at the environmental and economic impacts and how they could optimize the plant. 

Dhruv recommends that future EST&P students take advantage of the opportunity the program offers to take classes outside of the program.  “Dr. Landis was very helpful with working classes outside of the program into my schedule.” He found the business and entrepreneurship classes he took were a great addition to the EST&P core curriculum.