ASNEngr 17th Conference Steering Committee

Mr. Mangal Maharjan is a Senior Design Engineer at EDF Renouvelables. He completed his Master’s in Engineering (ME) and Business Administration (MBA) in Ukraine and The Netherlands, respectively. Mr. Maharjan worked as a Senior Officer at the Alternative Energy Promotion Center in Nepal for 12 ½ years and served as a Solar Design Engineer at Solar Energy World for 8 years before joining EDF Renouvelables. He is a lifelong member of the ASNEngr and currently serves as the Vice President of the Society, having held various positions in the past.

General Co-Chair:

Nirajan Aryal, PE

Mr. Nirajan Aryal is a Transportation Engineer at the City of Raleigh, North Carolina. He completed his Master’s in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University and earned a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Nepal. Mr. Aryal was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Chapter at OSU (2008-2009) and a founding member of the Civil Engineering Students’ Society in Nepal (2007-2008). He is a lifelong member of the ASNEngr. Currently, Mr. Aryal serves as an Executive Member of the Society, having held various positions.

Technical Chair:

Om Dahal, Ph.D., P.E.

Dr. Om Dahal is a Senior Engineer at Burns & McDonnell. His academic journey began with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Pulchowk Campus, Nepal. He gained invaluable experience working at the Nepal Electricity Authority for seven years before pursuing his Ph.D. at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. After completing his doctorate, Dr. Dahal spent nine years contributing his expertise at the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) before joining Burns & McDonnell as a Senior Engineer. He is a lifelong member of the ASNEngr and serves the society in various capacities. Additionally, Dr. Dahal is a Senior IEEE member and holds a Professional Engineer license in the states of Indiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Technical Co-Chair:

Rabin Dhakal, Ph.D.

Dr. Rabin Dhakal is a Senior Research Engineer at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). His research focuses on enhancing the performance and reliability of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems through laboratory and field-based testing and the application of data analytics to utility-scale PV plant datasets. Before joining EPRI, Dr. Dhakal gained five years of experience in the renewable energy sector in Nepal and South Africa, contributing to projects involving micro-hydro, solar, and wind energy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Pulchowk Campus, Nepal, and earned both his MSc and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University. Dr. Dhakal is a lifelong member of ASNEngr and has been actively serving the society since 2018.

Local Chair:

Bijaya Paudyal, Ph.D., PE

Dr. Paudyal is a Principal Engineer at Clean Energy Associates (CEA), where he focuses on the conceptual design of solar PV projects, technical due diligence analysis, including independent reviews of solar PV designs, testing/commissioning procedures, QA/QC documentation, and evaluation of proposed major equipment. With over 13 years of experience in the renewable energy sector in the USA, Dr. Paudyal brings extensive expertise to his role. He completed his Post-Doctoral Research Scholar in the Electrical Characterization Group within a PV industry partnership spanning academic, commercial, and government sectors, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) at North Carolina State University (2010-2011). Prior to that, he earned his PhD in Silicon Cell from The Australian National University (2006-2010). Dr. Paudyal is a lifelong member of ASNEngr and currently serves as the Chapter President of the Carolinas Chapter (AdHoc Committee).