Powering Resilient Communities: A Holistic Approach to Food, Energy, and Water Security

Erin Whitney

Research Faculty

Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Dr. Whitney is a faculty member at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. Her research focuses on solar photovoltaics and hydrogen prospects in the Arctic, and she has led numerous projects examining renewable energy for Alaska's communities in a holistic context. Before returning home to Alaska, Dr. Whitney spent nearly a decade as a staff scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.

Daisy Huang

Associate Professor

College of Engineering and Mines, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Dr. Huang is an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and specializes in thermodynamics and thermal management; community usage of renewable energy; mechanics of snow; food, energy, and water security.

Bill Schnabel

Dean

College of Engineering and Mines

Dr. Schnabel has a background in chemistry and environmental engineering and is a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Bill's areas of research include water quality, road construction, and renewable energy.

Srijan Aggarwal

Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering

College of Engineering and Mines, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Dr. Aggarwal studies environmental biotechnology, efficient water/wastewater treatment and biofilm processes in environmental systems. He also specializes in computational modeling of atmospheric nanoparticle pollution and air-quality issues, along with water quality and treatment, air quality and pollution, environmental science, and oil spills.

Jennifer Schmidt

Assistant Professor of Natural Resources Management and Policy

Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage

Dr. Schmidt is interested in the research and management of socio-ecological systems that help balance conservation efforts with the needs of society. Her research topics include human dimensions of subsistence and sport harvest, land use, ecosystem management, ecosystem services, climate change, and wildfire. She specializes in topics that require a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, utilize biological and social data, and engage stakeholders to co-produce knowledge that can be used by a wide audience.

Chris Pike

Research Engineer

Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Mr. Pike specializes in solar photovoltaic research at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, where he manages the Solar Test Site, advises Solarize campaigns across the state, and actively engages in research with varied stakeholders to better understand and responsibly advance solar technology in the Arctic.

Michelle Wilber

Research Engineer

Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Ms. Wilber leads the Beneficial and Equitable Electrification initiative at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. The BEE initiative looks at the electrification of currently or previously non-electrified energy loads in Alaska, such as transportation and heating, in order to harness local, sustainable and cost-effective energy resources for all.

Henry Huntington

Independent Consultant

Huntington Consulting

Dr. Huntington’s research activities include reviewing the regulation of subsistence hunting in northern Alaska, documenting traditional ecological knowledge of marine mammals, examining Iñupiat Eskimo and Inuit knowledge and use of sea ice, and assessing the impacts of climate change on Arctic communities and Arctic marine mammals. He has made long trips in the Arctic by dog team, open boat, and snowmobile.

Michele Chamberlin

Research Engineer

Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Mr. Chamberlin, formerly of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power and now based in Europe, has focused on renewable energy integration into diesel-based microgrids and refined energy distribution models for food, energy and water-related infrastructure in remote Alaska communities.

Daniel Sambor

Postdoctoral Associate

Stanford University

Dr. Sambor recently completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His dissertation focused on the design and optimization of food, energy, and water infrastructure in islanded renewable microgrids, with much of his work taking place in Alaska and Canada.

Rich Wies, Jr.

Professor of Electrical Engineering

Alaska Center for Energy and Power, College of Engineering and Mines, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Dr. Wies is an electrical engineer with a focus on renewable energy, distributed controls and energy management, and microgrid modeling and stability. He specializes in engineering challenges of renewable energy integration in remote islanded microgrids including standalone asynchronous renewable generation, energy distribution and storage optimization with high renewable energy penetration, stability of inverter-dominated grids, and assessment of renewable energy impacts on food, energy, and water system security in remote Alaska communities.

Gwen Holdmann

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Industry Partnerships

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Gwen Holdmann is the founder and former director of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power and has worked as a design engineer and project manager at the only operating geothermal power plant in Alaska. Gwen lives in an off-grid home with her family and 35 dogs, using a combination of solar, wind, battery storage, diesel generation, and wood heat.

Christie Haupert

Project Manager

Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Christie Haupert spent a decade working as a project manager for the National Science Foundation's Arctic Research Support and Logistics Services Program. She coordinates the Solar Technologies Program, the Data Collection and Analysis Program, and emerging electric vehicle research efforts at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power.