Hi, I’m Brinda Thomas. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, and was a visiting postdoc at Stanford University at the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center to work on data analytics for the smart grid. Since 2013, I have worked at large energy companies including PG&E, Tesla and GE and energy efficiency start-ups including Whisker Labs and Bidgley. I also served a two-year appointment as a member of the community advisory committee for East Bay Community Energy, a community choice aggregator (i.e. local energy procurement agency) in Alameda County, CA while working as a data scientist at Stitch Fix, Inc. the online fashion retailer. I currently run a data consulting business, Pragmatic Foresights, based in Rockville, Maryland which I founded in 2023 while on sabbatical from the corporate life. For the mc2maven project, I write on energy and climate policy, machine learning or artificial intelligence, and general interest science or history of science topics.
The handle @mc2maven (which I coined in 2012 for my Twitter/X account) is a mashup of Albert Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2 about energy and the concept of a ‘maven’, as popularized by journalist Malcolm Gladwell, meaning a person who possesses information and expertise and is willing to share it.
The mc2maven writing project is independent from any other business entity, non-profit organization or government agency. All views and any errors are mine alone.
For mc2maven project inquiries, email me via contact at mc2maven dot com.