Alumni Spotlight: Rinika Pulupudi

Rinika Pulupudi merges knowledge and experience in greening infrastructure.

Written by Arnel Garcesa

Sustainability requires all components of a system to sum larger than its parts. And in order to achieve a better future for all, it requires each of our own talents to fuse into a grand combination. Patel College of Global Sustainability alum Rinika Pulupudi has replicated this process in helping to bridge realms where sustainability can permeate.

Before attending PCGS, Rinika received her Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from her native India and a Master’s in Sustainable Energy Engineering in Sweden. “Sweden had the reputation of being more progressive in implementing renewable solutions to provide energy. I was interested in combining my knowledge of technical systems towards the burgeoning technologies being practiced.” Rinika engrained herself into the utility-scale energy solutions then shifted her focus to the opposite - smaller scale renewable energy closer to the average consumer.

For Rinika’s next endeavor, family referred PCGS’s reputation of offering instruction on the importance of sustainability’s interaction and the food-water-energy nexus which brought Rinika to the U.S. The classroom experience broadened her vision. “I learned that sustainability cannot be practiced with one section in isolation. I previously held the ideal that technical solutions overcome impending issues in the energy sector. But those problems inherently involve the choices and interactions made by people – they are at the heart of truly-sustainable solutions.”

Indeed, Rinika had the chance to work within the social pillar of sustainability serving as a Sustainability Analyst for Sonoma State University. She served on the front-lines conversing with students, staff and community stakeholders to underpin how sustainable actions are at the heart of a needed evolution. “I was fortunate to disseminate sustainable messaging in our events and work on campus. Sonoma State is a part of the Cal State University (CSU) system, the largest in the U.S., and thus it is important we steep the next generation of leaders through sustainable education. Of course, in order to educate we need to exemplify.”

Merging with her on-campus interactions, Rinika brought her technical expertise to work towards achieving greener operations. She served as the project lead for the Skyspark project which sought to modernize the metering and reporting infrastructure of the university’s buildings. “Similar to many universities worldwide, CSU had a sustainability goal to reduce its emissions from energy and resource consumption for social welfare. In order for CSU to be in a position to do so, it needed to accurately measure the consumption by each one of its buildings. Since some of the buildings are older than others, they lacked real-time capability for us to know what was currently occurring with its consumption.”

Rinika’s project merged building management systems, utility metering and dashboard reporting to provide Sonoma State with the intel to take action. “The implications of my project enabled me to track the historical and real-time consumption of buildings. I could then analyze how well they adhere to normal consumption, and if they don’t, I have reason to investigate why consumption is abnormal.”

But there’s more to the puzzle than meets the eye. Rinika says being in the field and conversing with consultants opened her eyes to systems she had not seen before. “Learning in an academic setting then traversing the field are two complementary experiences. I witnessed the boilers and chillers driving the campus energy system – and are responsible for much of the interior environment students, faculty and staff enjoy. Extrapolating this to other campuses I’ve walked – it’s been fascinating to learn the silent heartbeat and engines of academia.” Rinika understands efficient infrastructure is integral in making our world more sustainable and hopes to contribute towards evolving solutions. “I have been fortunate to apply my mechanical knowledge to make our systems more efficient. I hope to play a leading role alongside fellow trailblazers in developing potent practices that make our world better.” It is Rinika’s melding of knowledge and experience which will pioneer the world to a greener future.