Destenie Nock
Assistant Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy
Destenie Nock received her Ph.D. in 2019 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, she performed energy systems modeling in both New England and Sub-Saharan Africa, using multi-criteria decision analysis and applied optimization to better equip policy makers to understand energy planning options. Nock’s broad research interests are focused around using mathematical modeling tools to address societal problems related to sustainability planning, energy policy, and engineering for social good. She has a breadth of professional experience, having worked in industry, national labs, and government settings on issues related to energy systems and equity.
Education
2019 Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Amherst
Research Interests
Media mentions
CMU Engineering
Transit inequity increased during pandemic
Preliminary results from study of Allegheny County’s public busses finds transit inequity directly contributes to higher infection rates among members of low income and ethnic minority groups.
NPR
Nock quoted on power grid infrastructure
CEE/EPP’s Destenie Nock was quoted on NPR about keeping infrastructure like power lines working in extreme weather.
The Academic Minute
CMU Engineering week on The Academic Minute
August 16 begins Carnegie Mellon Engineering week on National Public Radio’s (NPR) The Academic Minute. Each day, a different professor will discuss interesting facets of their research. The faculty lineup includes: Daniel Armanios, Amir Barati Farimani, Bin He, Destenie Nock, and Larry Pillegi.
Multiple outlets
Nock interviewed on energy poverty by multiple platforms
CEE/EPP’s Destenie Nock was interviewed on multiple platforms, including the YouTube channel Energy Nerd Show, the Apple podcast The Big Switch, and gtm.
Make Me Smart
Nock interviewed on power grids and climate change
CEE/EPP’s Destenie Nock was interviewed on Marketplace's Make Me Smart podcast about how power grids function, and how climate change is starting to affect them. The precarious balance between supply and demand when it comes to power grids means they’re especially vulnerable to extreme temperature changes spurred by climate change.
WESA
Nock interviewed on microgrids
CEE/EPP’s Destenie Nock was interviewed on WESA about microgrids, their growing popularity, and a recent installation at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
CMU Engineering
Who is marginalized in energy justice?
Destenie Nock is working to bring more perspectives from stakeholders in developing countries into decisions that affect the expansion of their power grid.
CMU Engineering
Celebrating Engineers’ Week
Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering is excited to celebrate Engineers’ Week 2021.
Carnegie Mellon University
Engineering faculty quoted on climate policy
ChemE/EPP’s Neil Donahue, EPP’s Valerie Karplus, CEE/EPP’s Destenie Nock, CEE/EPP’s Costa Samaras, MechE’s Ryan Sullivan, and the Scott Institute’s Anna Siefken were quoted on President Biden’s climate policy.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
CEE faculty researching coronavirus effects
CEE researchers, including Kelvin Gregory, Kaushik Dayal, Destenie Nock, post-doc Mahnoush Babaei, and Ph.D. student Esteban Londono, are looking into detection and treatment methods as well as socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nock and Samaras partner with Google AI on energy equity
CEE’s Destenie Nock and Costa Samaras are partnering with Google AI researchers to characterize energy equity in the U.S. as part of the company’s Award for Inclusion Research (AIR) program. The team’s ultimate goal is to “explore policy options for increasing energy equity in electricity, heating, and transportation during the transition to a decarbonized energy system under climate change.”
Nock and Harper receive Block Center grant
CEE/EPP’s Destenie Nock and CEE’s Corey Harper have received a grant from the Block Center for Technology and Society to explore how autonomous vehicle (AV) transportation systems could lead to greater workforce resilience.