About Me

Welcome to my website! I am a computer scientist and business economist with several years of hands-on experience in different positions at power distribution system operators. Currently, I am pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the elenia Institute for High-Voltage Technology and Power Systems, TU Braunschweig, and like to think about current and future challenges in residential energy management systems.

Academic Background

  • Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Computer Science, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 2019 - 2021
  • Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Computer Science, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 2015 - 2019
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Business Administration, Fachhochschule Südwestfalen, 2015
  • Business Economist (VWA), Verwaltungs- und Wirtschafts-Akademie Braunschweig, 2011 - 2014

Work Experience

  • Research Associate at elenia Institute for High-Voltage Technology and Power Systems, TU Braunschweig, November 2021 - Present

    • In my PhD research, I am working on a customer-focused energy management system, integrating smart meter gateways and exploring future communication scenarios. I am especially interested in tackling optimization challenges in energy management and using peer-to-peer communication to make energy use more efficient and sustainable.

  • User Researcher at Collabovid, April 2020 - 2022

    • Worked on a COVID-19 project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). My research focused on understanding the challenges scientists face when searching for relevant publications: with hundreds of new publications released daily during the pandemic, our goal was to help researchers worldwide navigate the vast amount of COVID-19-related research efficiently.

  • Working Student, Asset Management at Avacon Netz GmbH, August 2020 - October 2021

    • Implemented a tool to track, manage, and assess planned operations in the power grid.

  • Student Assistant at Technische Universität Braunschweig, October 2017 - March 2020

    • Institute for Information Systems: Tutor for Relational Database Systems 1, including conception and conduction of a special tutorial for students on their second or third attempt (audiences of up to 80 people), October 2017 - March 2020
    • Algorithms Division: Tutor for Algorithms and Data Structures 2, April 2019 - July 2019
    • Institute for High-Voltage Technology and Power Systems: Programming for an e-mobility backend software, January 2018 - March 2018

  • Working Student, Grid Operations at LSW Netz GmbH & Co. KG, April 2017 - June 2017

    • Knowledge transfer from my previous employment.

  • Controller at LSW Netz GmbH & Co. KG, September 2014 - August 2015

    • Introduction and support of a new company-wide controlling software.

  • Regulatory Affairs and Grid Access Specialist at LSW Netz GmbH & Co. KG, June 2010 - August 2014

    • Various tasks in the context of the incentive regulation of power and gas distribution grid operators.

  • Apprenticeship as Industrial Clerk (Industriekaufmann) at LSW Netz GmbH & Co. KG, September 2007 - June 2010

Contact Information

Feel free to reach out to me at e.niehs@googlemail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Thank you for visiting my site!