about.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<head>
	<title>About Me</title>
	<meta charset="utf-8">
	<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
	<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS Feed" href="rss.xml">

	<!-- SEO Description -->
	<meta name="author" content="Nicholas S. Selby">
	<meta name="description" content="About Nicholas Selby">
	<link rel="canonical" href="https://rupumped.github.io/about.html">

	<!-- Open Graph Tags -->
	<meta property="og:title" content="About Me">
	<meta property="og:description" content="About Nicholas Selby">
	<meta property="og:image" content="https://rupumped.github.io/og-image.jpg">
	<meta property="og:image:width" content="1498">
	<meta property="og:image:height" content="778">
	<meta property="og:image:alt" content="Nicholas Selby: Engineering that Centers Users and Their Communities">
	<meta property="og:url" content="https://rupumped.github.io/about.html">
	<meta property="og:type" content="website">

	<!-- Favicon -->
	<link rel="icon" href="./favicon.svg" type="image/svg+xml">
	<link rel="icon" href="./favicon.ico" sizes="any">

	<!-- Fonts -->
	<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
	<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
	<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Bricolage+Grotesque:opsz,wght@12..96,200..800&family=Literata:ital,opsz,wght@0,7..72,300..700;1,7..72,300..700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
	<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=IM+Fell+English+SC&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> 

	<!-- Custom CSS -->
	<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="main.css">
	<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="about/about.css">
</head>
<body>
	<header>
		<div class="header-content">
			<a href="index.html" id="name">NICHOLAS S SELBY</a>
			<nav>
				<input class="menu-btn" type="checkbox" id="menu-btn">
				<label class="menu-icon" for="menu-btn" tabindex="0"><span class="navicon"></span></label>
				<ul class="menu">
					<li><a href="index.html">HOME</a></li>
					<li><a class="active-link" href="about.html">ABOUT</a></li>
					<li><a href="selected-work.html">PROJECTS</a></li>
					<li><a href="scholarship.html">SCHOLARSHIP</a></li>
					<li><a href="service.html">SERVICE</a></li>
					<li><a href="blog.html">BLOG</a></li>
				</ul>
			</nav>
		</div>
	</header>

	<main>
		<h1 class="visually-hidden">About</h1>
		<img loading="lazy" id="rooftop-hero" src="about/rooftop.jpg" alt="Nicholas Selby on a rooftop">

		<div id="quote-container">
			<div id="quote-symbol">"</div>
			<div id="quote">
				<div id="quote-words">
					The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things as well.
				</div>
				<div id="quote-citation">
					— Horace Walpole
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>

		<div id="bio" class="section">
			<p><img loading="lazy" class="img-right" src="about/ndeda0.jpg" alt="Me, fingers crossed, sitting in front of power electronics and a laptop running software">I am Nick Selby, and I am passionate about engineering that centers users and their communities. Working as the VP of Engineering for Renewvia, I am responsible for the technical aspects of our African solar mini-grid fleet, from engineering design, to construction, to technical operation, and even software and data infrastructure. I love how the diversity in my responsibilities forces me to learn something new everyday. I spend part of my time in the field, where the people we serve tell me directly what they need, and part in leadership, where I have the permission to prototype innovative solutions to solve sector-wide problems. Most mornings I wake up asking, "how can I connect one more person to power?" It's a good question. Some days the answer is an algorithm. Other days it's a guy in the field named Tobias who knows more than I do.</p>

			<p>I hold a Ph.D. from MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, which is one department, one degree, and one diploma (though my wife likes to tell people I have a "double PhD from MIT," and I haven't corrected her). My doctoral research focused on machine learning for robotics, back when that sounded like a charmingly obscure corner of engineering and not the plot of every third news cycle. I defended in 2021 and walked out into a world that had apparently decided my obscure corner of academia was now the main event. The folks at Forbes put me on their 30 Under 30 list, which made my parents think I'd finally done something real. (That's a lie—my parents have always been supportive. It made <i>me</i> think I had arrived, which lasted about a day and a half.)</p>

			<img loading="lazy" class="img-full-width" src="about/stitched.jpg" alt="Three photos showing me leading a tour of a mini-grid, my colleagues and I working on a wind turbine, and me teaching a class with Arduino code projected behind me">

			<p>When I'm not building something, you'll probably find me giving a talk at a conference, trying to stay one lesson ahead of my computer science students in Kibera, or heading out on a hike I've confidently described as "totally manageable."</p>

			<p>Send me an email if you have an interesting project on which you would like to collaborate. I am always ready for another adventure, preferably one where my qualifications are only about 70% of what's required and the other 30% will have to be learned on the fly, slightly panicked, in good company.</p>

			<img loading="lazy" class="img-full-width" src="about/final.jpg" alt="Me looking over Patagonia">
		</div>
	</main>

	<footer>
		<div id="top-footer">
			<div id="footer-socials">
				<a aria-label="My LinkedIn profile" rel="external" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-selby-5278b334/" target="_blank">
					<svg viewBox="0 0 448 512" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-labelledby="LinkedIn-title LinkedIn-desc">
						<title id="LinkedIn-title">LinkedIn</title>
						<desc id="LinkedIn-desc">LinkedIn icon</desc>
						<path d="m416 32h-384.1c-17.6 0-31.9 14.5-31.9 32.3v383.4c0 17.8 14.3 32.3 31.9 32.3h384.1c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3v-383.4c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zm-280.6 384h-66.4v-213.8h66.5v213.8zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5s17.2-38.5 38.5-38.5c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4v-104c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9v105.8h-66.4v-213.8h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9z"/>
					</svg>
				</a>
				<a aria-label="My Google Scholar Profile" rel="external" href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SKcs1pEAAAAJ" target="_blank">
					<svg viewBox="0 0 448 512" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-labelledby="Google-Scholar-title Google-Scholar-desc">
						<title id="Google-Scholar-title">Google Scholar</title>
						<desc id="Google-Scholar-desc">Google Scholar icon</desc>
						<path d="m48 32c-26.5 0-48 21.5-48 48v352c0 26.5 21.5 48 48 48h352c26.5 0 48-21.5 48-48v-352c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48zm140.69531 64h178.24024l-16.47071 12.85938v22.69335c6.1159.78532 5.46875 4.46019 5.46875 8.85743v107.22265c0 4.96563-4.06205 9.0293-9.02734 9.0293h-3.32422c-4.96563 0-9.0293-4.06403-9.0293-9.0293v-107.22265c0-4.40781-.63995-8.08659 5.52149-8.86133v-14.26563l-47.42383 38.89258c.54795 1.01573 1.06775 1.6675 1.5625 2.51953 4.16684 7.37735 6.28906 16.54919 6.28906 27.75977 0 8.59325-1.43204 16.31497-4.33593 23.13086-2.89082 6.81736-6.4066 12.38451-10.50782 16.67383-4.10119 4.30429-8.21545 8.23614-12.33008 11.77734-4.11326 3.54813-7.62906 7.24664-10.50781 11.08789-2.90139 3.82814-4.34765 7.78747-4.34765 11.88867 0 4.10814 1.87594 8.28085 5.61328 12.48633 3.72386 4.2186 8.30529 8.30635 13.72265 12.34375 5.42938 4.01043 10.84634 8.46278 16.26368 13.30664 5.42904 4.83584 9.98706 11.06107 13.71093 18.62109 3.75047 7.58518 5.625 15.93732 5.625 25.11719 0 12.10928-3.08756 23.04599-9.24609 32.7793-6.17204 9.69317-14.21877 17.42887-24.10156 23.09961-9.90904 5.70939-20.50722 10.00631-31.8086 12.91015-11.32797 2.87733-22.56501 4.32227-33.78906 4.32227-7.08423 0-14.23265-.5475-21.42187-1.66602-7.21219-1.12-14.43823-3.09828-21.7168-5.88476-7.29167-2.80655-13.75106-6.25079-19.34961-10.39063-5.61205-4.09467-10.12984-9.38173-13.59375-15.82031-3.46392-6.43852-5.18359-13.67857-5.18359-21.71875 0-9.53863 2.65694-18.38532 7.98242-26.63476 5.32512-8.18928 12.3823-15.02552 21.1582-20.44141 15.31325-9.52549 39.33645-15.4113 72.03125-17.63672-7.47326-9.34283-11.22266-18.13975-11.22266-26.36914 0-4.68271 1.22186-9.69984 3.64454-15.11719-3.90652.54687-7.9286.85352-12.03125.85352-17.56273 0-32.39541-5.70952-44.43946-17.20703-12.04402-11.47856-18.05859-25.8462-18.05859-43.2168 0-1.81599.05219-3.41866.18164-5.18945h-71.378907zm31.37891 38.33398c-11.19892 0-19.79186 4.02906-25.78125 12.07032-5.9879 8.02012-8.98438 17.73465-8.98438 29.14648 0 9.71981 1.64061 19.61644 4.92188 29.70703 3.2681 10.08548 8.62123 19.08948 16.12109 27.02539 7.47324 7.95594 16.17192 11.92578 26.05469 11.92578 11.01591 0 19.62286-3.68944 25.79492-11.07226 6.14505-7.37043 9.23047-16.67343 9.23047-27.87891 0-9.54517-1.6264-19.537-4.89453-29.98633-3.25608-10.46247-8.68505-19.90262-16.26367-28.30664-7.55234-8.4321-16.30333-12.63086-26.19922-12.63086zm18.51758 172.08008c-8.03469 0-15.93905.71228-23.69922 2.13086-7.76017 1.37996-15.41675 3.70986-22.96875 6.99805-7.57861 3.26958-13.69819 8.07499-18.35938 14.42969-4.68784 6.34667-7.01953 13.82169-7.01953 22.42187 0 8.19582 2.05913 15.50628 6.17383 21.87305 4.10265 6.32768 9.51795 11.28394 16.25 14.83203 6.73201 3.55471 13.78885 6.23613 21.1582 8 7.3828 1.75184 14.89682 2.66406 22.55274 2.66406 15.14262 0 28.17578-3.41115 39.11328-10.22851 10.91054-6.8159 16.38086-17.34206 16.38086-31.54883 0-2.98812-.41689-5.93201-1.23828-8.80274-.85861-2.90389-1.70365-5.3892-2.53711-7.45312-.83345-2.02525-2.42173-4.4673-4.76563-7.2793-2.33081-2.81861-4.11569-4.90255-5.31445-6.28906-1.2239-1.43208-3.51215-3.47703-6.88672-6.17969-3.34426-2.71375-5.48032-4.40548-6.43164-5.03125h-.00195c-.93771-.65762-3.3717-2.4355-7.29102-5.32031-3.9189-2.91084-6.06651-4.45407-6.44531-4.63672-2.05736-.37077-4.94607-.58008-8.66992-.58008z"/>
					</svg>
				</a>
				<a aria-label="My GitHub profile" rel="external" href="https://github.com/rupumped" target="_blank">
					<svg viewBox="0 0 448 512" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-labelledby="GitHub-title GitHub-desc">
						<title id="GitHub-title">GitHub</title>
						<desc id="GitHub-desc">GitHub icon</desc>
						<path d="M400 32H48C21.5 32 0 53.5 0 80v352c0 26.5 21.5 48 48 48h352c26.5 0 48-21.5 48-48V80c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48zM277.3 415.7c-8.4 1.5-11.5-3.7-11.5-8 0-5.4.2-33 .2-55.3 0-15.6-5.2-25.5-11.3-30.7 37-4.1 76-9.2 76-73.1 0-18.2-6.5-27.3-17.1-39 1.7-4.3 7.4-22-1.7-45-13.9-4.3-45.7 17.9-45.7 17.9-13.2-3.7-27.5-5.6-41.6-5.6-14.1 0-28.4 1.9-41.6 5.6 0 0-31.8-22.2-45.7-17.9-9.1 22.9-3.5 40.6-1.7 45-10.6 11.7-15.6 20.8-15.6 39 0 63.6 37.3 69 74.3 73.1-4.8 4.3-9.1 11.7-10.6 22.3-9.5 4.3-33.8 11.7-48.3-13.9-9.1-15.8-25.5-17.1-25.5-17.1-16.2-.2-1.1 10.2-1.1 10.2 10.8 5 18.4 24.2 18.4 24.2 9.7 29.7 56.1 19.7 56.1 19.7 0 13.9.2 36.5.2 40.6 0 4.3-3 9.5-11.5 8-66-22.1-112.2-84.9-112.2-158.3 0-91.8 70.2-161.5 162-161.5S388 165.6 388 257.4c.1 73.4-44.7 136.3-110.7 158.3zm-98.1-61.1c-1.9.4-3.7-.4-3.9-1.7-.2-1.5 1.1-2.8 3-3.2 1.9-.2 3.7.6 3.9 1.9.3 1.3-1 2.6-3 3zm-9.5-.9c0 1.3-1.5 2.4-3.5 2.4-2.2.2-3.7-.9-3.7-2.4 0-1.3 1.5-2.4 3.5-2.4 1.9-.2 3.7.9 3.7 2.4zm-13.7-1.1c-.4 1.3-2.4 1.9-4.1 1.3-1.9-.4-3.2-1.9-2.8-3.2.4-1.3 2.4-1.9 4.1-1.5 2 .6 3.3 2.1 2.8 3.4zm-12.3-5.4c-.9 1.1-2.8.9-4.3-.6-1.5-1.3-1.9-3.2-.9-4.1.9-1.1 2.8-.9 4.3.6 1.3 1.3 1.8 3.3.9 4.1zm-9.1-9.1c-.9.6-2.6 0-3.7-1.5s-1.1-3.2 0-3.9c1.1-.9 2.8-.2 3.7 1.3 1.1 1.5 1.1 3.3 0 4.1zm-6.5-9.7c-.9.9-2.4.4-3.5-.6-1.1-1.3-1.3-2.8-.4-3.5.9-.9 2.4-.4 3.5.6 1.1 1.3 1.3 2.8.4 3.5zm-6.7-7.4c-.4.9-1.7 1.1-2.8.4-1.3-.6-1.9-1.7-1.5-2.6.4-.6 1.5-.9 2.8-.4 1.3.7 1.9 1.8 1.5 2.6z"/>
					</svg>
				</a>
				<a aria-label="My RSS feed" href="rss.html">
					<svg height="800px" width="800px" version="1.1" id="Layer_1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" viewBox="-143 145 512 512" xml:space="preserve" aria-labelledby="RSS-title RSS-desc">
						<title id="RSS-title">RSS</title>
						<desc id="RSS-desc">RSS icon</desc>
						<path d="M329,145h-432c-22.1,0-40,17.9-40,40v432c0,22.1,17.9,40,40,40h432c22.1,0,40-17.9,40-40V185C369,162.9,351.1,145,329,145z M43.1,518.7c-6.2,6.2-14.7,9.9-24.1,9.9c-9.4,0-17.8-3.8-24-9.9c-6.2-6.2-10-14.6-10-23.9c0-9.4,3.8-17.8,10-24s14.6-10,24-10 c9.4,0,17.9,3.8,24,10c6.2,6.2,10,14.6,10,24C53,504.2,49.2,512.6,43.1,518.7z M104.8,529c-0.1-32.1-12.5-62.3-35.1-84.9 c-22.6-22.6-52.8-35.2-84.7-35.2V360c46.6,0,88.7,19,119.3,49.6c30.6,30.6,49.5,72.8,49.6,119.4H104.8z M192,529 c-0.1-114.2-92.8-207.1-206.9-207.1V273c70.6,0,134.5,28.7,180.8,75.1c46.3,46.4,75,110.3,75.1,180.9H192z"/>
					</svg>
				</a>
			</div>
			<div id="footer-initials">
				NSS
			</div>
			<div id="footer-nav">
				<a href="mailto:nicholas.selby@renewvia.com">CONTACT</a>
				<a href="index.html">HOME</a>
				<a href="sitemap.html">SITEMAP</a>
			</div>
		</div>
		<p id="copyright">
			© 2018–2026 This work by <a href="https://rupumped.github.io" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Nicholas S. Selby</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" target="_blank" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. Feel free to fork the <a rel="external" target="_blank" href="https://github.com/rupumped/rupumped.github.io">source code</a> from GitHub and create your own website using this template.
		</p>

		<!-- Tarpits -->
		<div style="display:none;">
			<a href="tarpit/entry.html">Archived Content</a>
		</div>
		<a href="tarpit/entry.html" style="opacity:0;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:1px;height:1px;">Archive</a>
		<div style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;width:1px;height:1px;overflow:hidden;" aria-hidden="true">
			<a href="tarpit/trap-1.html">Legacy Documentation</a>
			<a href="tarpit/trap-2.html">Historical Posts</a>
			<a href="tarpit/trap-3.html">Old Resources</a>
		</div>
	</footer>
</body>
</html>