Divo Tanudjaja is a 2nd-year Industrial and Systems Engineering major studying air quality modeling and the impacts of nature-based policy solutions with Dr. Omar Asensio. 

How long have you been an undergraduate researcher at Georgia Tech?

I have been doing research at Tech since Spring 2025 under Dr. Omar Asensio’s Data Science and Policy Lab within the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy.

How did you get involved with undergraduate research?

I first got involved in research by taking Dr. Asensio’s Data Science in Public Policy class (PUBP 3042). While I did initially register for the class because it satisfied my social science credit, it turned out to be a very fruitful experience. That semester, our class partnered with the U.S. Department of State to study air-quality mitigation in Karachi, Pakistan. My team analyzed a large urban forest using a quasi-experimental design and found no detectable increase in air quality, but we did observe an increase in nearby housing sale prices.

After presenting our findings to the State Department, I asked Dr. Asensio if we could turn this project into a publishable research paper. Thankfully, he agreed and over the summer, now as an official member of Dr. Asensio’s lab, I worked on polishing my work from the semester and drafting a paper to submit to conferences.

What are you working on?

This semester, we began prototyping machine learning models that relate PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns) to human-activity signals, such as traffic intensity and point-of-interest density. Typically, air quality is modeled in terms of climate-related signals, such as temperature and wind speed, but our is to test whether behavioral signals improve air quality relative to weather-only baselines, in order to better inform policy-makers.

What is your favorite thing about research/researching?

My favorite thing about research is that it gives me the challenge to communicate my findings to a wide range of audiences. It’s one thing to code up a function that turns your dataset into an insight using some fancy statistical method, but it’s another thing to effectively communicate that to a general audience in an accessible way and convince them why your research is meaningful. Throughout my research, I’ve grown to enjoy finding ways to make my data tell a clear and compelling story that can have real-world influence. I’ve come to realize this process has allowed me to become a more thoughtful communicator and a more patient problem-solver.

What are your future plans and how has research influenced them?

I plan to start my career in industry after graduation (though I’m open to returning to academia someday!). My time in research has shown me how valuable transferable skills like communicating complex ideas and supporting every argument with evidence are, no matter where I end up working. My research was my first foray into public policy; as an industrial engineer I did not have much exposure to this sector, but after meeting a lot of my public policy friends, I’ve become a lot more interested and would 100% consider working in public policy in the near future.

What advice do you have for students who want to be undergraduate researchers?

Getting a lab position (and especially one you find yourself happy in) isn’t the easiest thing to do – I sent many cold emails at first without any response. I myself wasn’t sure what type of research I wanted to do at first when I first came to Georgia Tech. My advice to starting your research journey was what worked for me: talking to people who were once in your shoes, whether it be seniors who are in a lab you’re interested in, or even just showing up to your instructor’s office hours – you never know what opportunities these people can give to you.

Another piece of advice that I’ll quote directly from Dr. Asensio: research is not a sprint – it’s a marathon. Getting a research position is one thing, but actually making it worth your time is another challenge of itself. You get out what you put in. Being committed on a frequent basis, whether it be weekly check-ins with your lab mates and your PI, or just making sure some sort of progress is being made every week with your project, will add up in the long run; you’d be surprised how much you can accomplish over a semester!