riya Malhotra 

Data analyst intern

Riya Malhotra is an architect and a building science professional with over four years of experience in the energy and environment sector. She has spearheaded sustainability and decarbonization initiatives from concept to execution, focusing on policy research, tool development, and data analysis. Currently, Riya is pursuing a Master of Science in Building Performance and Diagnostics at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) School of Architecture and is an active committee member with ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA.

Prior to her graduate studies, Riya worked as a Research Associate at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India, where she collaborated with private and government stakeholders on key projects such as Circular Built Environment Highlights from Asia with UN’s One Planet Network, Sky Modelling and Thermal comfort and Daylighting research at Mahindra TERI Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Sustainable Habitat.

As a Graduate Research Assistant at CMU, her work focuses on advancing residential electrification and solar energy adoption for peak demand management in low-income urban communities. In 2024, Riya was also selected as an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow with JLL, where she developed a dashboard wireframe to support the adoption of Building Performance Standards across the United States. In addition, as the Co-founder of M.U.D Collaborative, she also advocates for socially and environmentally sustainable building practices using natural clay- and bio- based materials.