I am a fifth-year PhD Candidate in Operations Management at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and I work with Professors Serguei Netessine and Christian Kaps.

My research focuses on emerging topics in energy operations, addressing how to integrate new energy generation, storage, and consumption technologies into existing systems. I combine analytical models and empirical analysis with geospatial data to develop profitable investment strategies and business models for clean energy in the presence of geographically varying returns, and to assess and manage the impacts of expected energy demand growth from AI infrastructure.

Prior to my doctoral studies, I worked at Tesla Energy and EDF Renewables, and graduated magna cum laude from UC Berkeley with a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, where I was advised by Professor Candace Yano.

I am on the 2026-27 academic job market.

Dissertation Committee: Serguei Netessine, Christian Kaps, Santiago Gallino, and Hummy Song

Upcoming Talks

July 12, 2026: INFORMS MSOM Conference (SIG Day)
Title: Moving Money Around: Mobile Energy Storage And The Value Of Geospatial Flexibility
Sustainable Operations SIG, Session SA (8:30-10:00 AM), Room Aldrich 208

Research

Working Papers

When Where Watt: Harnessing the Value of Time and Location for Renewable Electricity Generation
Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps, and Serguei Netessine
Available on SSRN
Finalist, INFORMS Society of Location Analysis (SOLA) Best Student Paper Award 2025

Moving Money Around: Mobile Energy Storage and the Value of Geospatial Flexiblity
Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps, and Serguei Netessine
Available on SSRN
Selected for Best Paper Proceedings of the 2026 Academy of Management Annual Meeting
Best PhD Student Paper, 2026 Commodity and Energy Market Association Annual Conference
Media coverage: Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

OM Grand Challenges: SDG 7 - Managing Decentralized Assets and Actors for the Clean Energy Transition
Christian Kaps, Serguei Netessine, Vishrut Rana, and Omer Karaduman
Minor Revision, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. Draft available on request.

Work In Progress

Watts Behind the AI Revolution: Impact of Data Centers on Energy Operations
Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps, and Serguei Netessine
Media coverage: Wharton Magazine

Published Papers

Block scheduling in a multi-hospital setting
Vishrut Rana, Candace Yano, Alexandra Newman
Operations Research, Data Analytics and Logistics

Teaching

Teaching Material

Powering the Machine: AI, Energy Supply Chains, and the High-Stakes Race to Meet Surging Demand
Santiago Gallino and Vishrut Rana
Teaching case available here

Teaching Assistant

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania:

OIDD 6110: Quality and Productivity
MBA Core with Christian Terwiesch
Fall 2025 (Full-time MBA), Fall 2025 (Executive MBA), Spring 2026 (Executive MBA)

OIDD 6730: Global Supply Chain Management
MBA Elective with Santiago Gallino
Spring 2025 (Full-time MBA), Spring 2026 (Full-time MBA)

OIDD 6970: Retail Supply Chain Management
MBA Elective with Santiago Gallino
Fall 2025 (Full-time MBA), Fall 2024 (Full-time MBA)

OIDD 1010: Introduction to Operations, Information and Decisions
UG Core with Gerard Cachon and Sergei Savin
Fall 2023

OIDD 6150: Operations Strategy
MBA Core with Gerard Cachon
Fall 2023 (Full-time MBA)

College of Engineering, University of California at Berkeley:

IEOR 162: Linear Programming and Network Flows
UG Major Requirement with Dorit Hochbaum
Head Student Instructor - Fall 2021