Dr. Thomas Vitolo graduated from NC State University in 1998, 1999, and 2000 with BS degrees in Economics, Computer Science, and Applied Mathematics. He then attended Dublin City University as a Mitchell Scholar, where he earned a MSc in Financial and Industrial Mathematics, focusing on modeling fluid flow using finite difference computations of partial differential equations. He continued his studies at Boston University where he pursued his PhD in Systems Engineering. His academic work involved optimizing physical and financial systems through quantitative analysis, linear and nonlinear programming, and several other methods.Vitolo was in NC State's first-ever cohort of Park Scholars (entering in 1996), and he was the very first Park Scholar to graduate from NC State when he earned his first degree in 1998. Among his many contributions to the Park Scholarships program, he was a co-founder of Service Raleigh, a major campus tradition that today enlists 2,000 volunteers annually to complete about 75 projects across the city in a large-scale day of service.While in graduate school, Tommy worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory. There, he designed algorithms and implemented software to create network topologies for orbital, aerial, land-based, and nautical vehicles by exploiting structure to solve large mixed integer linear programing problems using branching techniques and delayed column generation.Today, Dr. Vitolo works as a Senior Associate at Synapse Energy Economics, where he conducts research, authors reports, and delivers expert testimony on issues related to renewable resources, distributed energy resources, integrated resource planning, municipal utility planning, coal asset valuation, renewable energy and carbon markets, compliance, and cost-benefit analysis. Dr. Vitolo has testified before public service commissions, state legislatures, and executive utility boards in eleven states including North Carolina, typically with a focus on simulation, modeling, or statistical analysis.Additionally, he’s been an elected member of Brookline Town Meeting, his local legislature, for the past ten years. He has authored laws related to tobacco control, government transparency, renewable electricity, and workplace safety for government employees. Tommy has been a member of committees focusing on topics including redistricting, transportation infrastructure, park design, and municipal solid waste collection.Tommy was recently elected to as a State Representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.