CalPlug Team

Head Director

G. P. Li is a professor at the University of California, Irvine, with appointments in two departments: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering, and Materials and Manufacturing Technology program. Dr. Li serves as director of California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), which develops solutions for digital transformation of energy and environmental industrial sectors. Dr. Li also serves as director of the Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility (INRF) in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, which researches and develops sensors and actuators for industry 4.0 applications. Furthermore, he serves as director of California Plug Load Research Center (CalPlug), which research and develop solutions for improving flexible demand plug loads’ energy efficiency and their active management. Dr. Li holds 38 U.S. patents with additional 11 patents pending and has published more than 400 research papers involving microelectronic technologies, microwave circuit design, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) for communication and biomedical instrumentation applications, bio-nano-IT technology, and AI for efficient energy utilization and manufacturing.

G.P. Li, PhD
Director, Calit2
Email: gpli@calit2.uci.edu

Research Specialists

Katie Gladych joined CalPlug in 2019, with a background in energy policy. She received her dual-degree MA in Social Sciences and Contemporary European Studies from the University of Bath in the UK and the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany. She also holds a BA from Lawrence University in Wisconsin. Her previous work focused on the Energiewende (energy transition) in Germany using interdisciplinary research methods from political science and behavioral economics. At CalPlug, she studies plug load user behavior and utility energy efficiency programs, with an additional focus on improving state and federal codes and standards.

Katie Gladych
CalPlug Project Manager
Email: Kgladych@uci.edu

Shuoyu Arnold Wang joined CalPlug as a postdoctoral scholar in 2024. Prior to joining CalPlug, he was a post-graduate intern within the Building Energy Science Group at National Renewable Energy Laboratory(NREL). Dr. Wang holds a Ph.D. in structural engineering from Lehigh University and a M.S. in civil engineering from University of Southern California. He also received his B.S. in civil engineering from Southwest Jiaotong University, China. Dr. Wang’s research focuses on sensible and latent thermal energy storage (TES) systems with integration of both industry and building sectors. He has a diverse expertise in developing energy storage materials such as cementitious materials and phase change materials (PCM), computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and transient heat transfer simulation of energy storage systems, and state-of-art technologies for improving energy efficiency of building thermal equipment and building envelope.

Shuoyu Arnold Wang
CalPlug Postdoctoral Scholar
Email: shuoyuw@uci.edu

Affiliated Team Members

Sergio Gago-Masague, Ph.D
Director of ETAD
Email: sgagomas@calit2.uci.edu

Patricia Lim
Industry Development Strategist
Email: palim@calit2.uci.edu

Shelly Nazarenus
Director of Communications
Email: snaz@calit.uci.edu