Program Director Dr. Brian Efird is the program director for Policy and Decision Science. He manages a multidisciplinary, multi-national team of researchers… Dr. Brian Efird is the program director for Policy and Decision Science. He manages a multidisciplinary, multi-national team of researchers who work on quantitative models of collective decision-making processes (CDMP), geospatial information system applications to energy economics and energy policy, demography and energy, and energy policy studies of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Dr. Efird is co-editor-in-chief of a new journal from Springer Scientific called Energy Transitions. He was previously a senior research fellow at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.; a consultant on defense and international security matters in Washington; and a consultant applying quantitative models to support corporate, investment banking, and legal negotiations in New York.

Expertise

• Behavioral modeling
• Geopolitics
• Defense and national security studies
• Human geography
• Strategic communication

Senior Research Associate Imtenan is a senior research associate in KAPSARC’s Policy and Decision Science program with years of experience in the industry… Imtenan is a senior research associate in KAPSARC’s Policy and Decision Science program with years of experience in the industry and the research. She is also leading the research strategic project management activities. Imtenan holds a Master’s degree with distinction in Software engineering and leadership from DePaul University, Chicago, USA. She is a Future Energy Leader at World Energy Council in London.

Expertise

• Data science
• Machine learning
• Industry and entrepreneurship
• Game theory
• Bargaining models
• Behavioral analysis
• Policy assessment
• Geopolitics
• GCC energy policies and economics
• Transition management.

Visiting Researcher Ben Wise is a visiting research at KAPSARC. He supports the Policy Decision Sciences group as the main architect of… Ben Wise is a visiting research at KAPSARC. He supports the Policy Decision Sciences group as the main architect of the KAPSARC Toolkit for Behavior Analysis (KTAB). His research interests focus on the development of formal models of negotiation and their practical application to policy analysis. He began working with KAPSARC in 2014, after spending 25 years in various positions in corporate R&D or nonprofit research. Dr. Wise led many projects for research, consulting, policy analysis, doctrine development, and distributed training.

Expertise

• Formals models of planning
• Negotiation
• Optimization
• Trade
• Finance

Senior Research Analyst Lama is a software developer and senior research analyst in KAPSARC’s Policy and Decision Science program. She is one of… Lama is a software developer and senior research analyst in KAPSARC’s Policy and Decision Science program. She is one of the main contributors to the KAPSARC Toolkit for Behavioral Analysis (KTAB). Lama is also working on a project examining renewable energy policies in the GCC, which identifies effective policies to promote deployment of renewable energy. In addition, she is developing a project on energy access in humanitarian assistance missions, which aims to provide a better understanding of basic energy demand in displaced communities.

Expertise

• Research tool development
• Modeling collective descision making processes
• GCC cooperation
• Energy access for humanitarian assistance.