Dr. Diego Ponce de Leon Barido is currently the Head of Technology and Analytics at Ava Community Energy where he works on all things – Big Data, anaytics, ML & AI, software and APIs, and information technolgy – for reliable energy provision and decentralizaed energy services (DERs).
He is also the founder of Xinampa, a company building low-cost and open access data infrastructure for clean energy, environmental justice, and conservation exploration science. Xinampa uses distributed sensor networks for data collection and sampling, software for mapping and data platforms, and APIs for providing access to critical data in data-limited environments.
Diego has extensive experience at the intersection of data, technology and sustainability science. He has designed and deployed wireless sensor networks for monitoring energy infrastructure across Mexico and Central America, worked on the design of open-source planning software for fostering low-carbon (low-impact) energy systems and economic development in Nicaragua, on grassroots sustainability efforts in Chiapas (Mexico) developing regional microcredit schemes and river survey studies, designing buffered rainwater and pumped-solar small water distribution systems in rural Uganda and Honduras, has used GIS and hydrological models to study the long-term sustainability of the Linthipe Basin (Malawi), and investigated linkages between hydrological variability, energy use, and agriculture in Punjab and Telangana (India). He has consulted for the EarthRise Alliance, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Mexican Energy Ministry, USAID, and the US Department of Energy among others.
He is a Link Foundation, National Geographic Energy Challenge, and CONACYT-UCMEXUS fellow. His work has been supported by the USAID Development Impact Lab, the Interamerican Development Bank, the Powerhouse Fund and Schneider Electric, the CITRIS Foundry, and the National Geographic Society.
Dr. Ponce de Leon Barido holds a PhD in Energy and Resources with a Designated Emphasis in Development Engineering (UC Berkeley), an M.S in Energy and Resources (UC Berkeley), a B.S.C.E in Civil Engineering (University of Minnesota), and a B.A in Economics (Macalester College).
