I am Abhi the “Guelph Maps Guy” and I map things that matter in and for Guelph – a place I’ve grown to call home since 2016.
My life is guided by the overarching philosophy of Belonging Somewhere: I believe that home is a habit and belonging can be a practice. I use my goofy hobbies – maps and data science – to add value to the place(s) I call home and to participate meaningfully in the lives of my (new) friends, my neighbours and my community.
Outside of my goofy hobby of making maps, I work full-time as a research analyst while chipping away part-time at a PhD in Geography at University of Guelph where I study the role of local actors (governments, people, institutions) in community development and energy transitions.
In an earlier life, I modeled power system operations (B.E, Electrical Engineering), built software to track transients (shooting stars) in the night sky (MS Physics), and developed solar and load forecast models for smart microgrids using machine learning (MS Computer Science). I championed a small rural community (Houghton, MI) into the semifinals of a national energy efficiency competition (Houghton Energy Efficiency Team). A social-enterprise I co-founded (@MiDataLabs) does ‘data science for good’. My data-driven approach to clean energy, civic engagement and community capacity building has received wide recognition, including being named a 40 Under 40 Energy Transition Leader by the Midwest Energy News. Learn more about me here
My lovely wife, our adorable cat and I have made Guelph (ON) our home since September 2016. We’ve fallen in love with every place we’ve ever lived. We have many hometowns 🙂