Dr. Kendall Parker of PNNL

Advancing Energy Equity through Systems Engineering Approaches

The global energy landscape is undergoing a transformative shift due to increasing deployment of renewable sources, technological advancements, and increased investments. However, this energy transition is not experienced equally, leading to disparities in opportunities, quality of life, and development. Energy equity, therefore, becomes a crucial concept that aims to address these disparities, ensure fair and equal access to energy resources, and enable participation in the energy decision-making process. Dr. Kendall Parker’s work uses systems engineering approaches to plan, develop, design, and manage equitable outcomes throughout the energy system. This involves combining knowledge from social science, ethics, law, and history with engineering concepts to outline solutions. 

To achieve energy equity, we must intentionally design systems, technology, procedures, and policies that lead to improved access, participation, and distribution of benefits and burdens in the energy system. This talk will describe the systems engineering lens by which we create approaches to evaluate and advance equity in the energy system and highlight prominent energy equity work.

Biography:

Dr. Kendall Parker is an Energy Equity Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with expertise in time series analysis, signal processing, probability, control systems, and differential privacy. At PNNL, she is combining her technical background and passion for energy equity to improve the affordability, accessibility, and reliability of clean energy for everyone, especially underserved communities. Prior to joining PNNL, Kendall served as an ORISE fellow in the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office at the Department of Energy, where she led the Office’s energy equity and environmental justice efforts. Kendall holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and a master’s and doctorate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida.

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