ACEP intern powers up community resilience with digital innovation

November 14, 2024

Allison Peng is interested in finding the intersection between computation and extreme environment research.

This summer Peng, a senior at the University of California, Davis pursuing a major in statistics and a minor in computer science, worked as an ACEP intern on a project that tackled that very area of her interest and that extended to developing educational resources to teach community members about power systems.

Under the mentorship of Daisy Huang and Dayne Broderson, Peng supported ACEP’s newly funded National Science Foundation project called STORM: Data-Driven Approaches for Secure Electric Grids in Communities Disproportionately Impacted by Climate Change. It focuses on increasing energy security and community resilience. In partnership with researchers at the universities of Maine, Puerto Rico and South Dakota, ACEP researchers are working to enhance research infrastructure. They aim to use data science methods to improve electrical grids and strengthen communities affected by climate change across the U.S.

Increasing the resilience of microgrid systems in rural communities such as Galena, Alaska, is essential because they are subject to the effects of extreme climate and climate change. One focus for ACEP is to engage with Alaska community partners to develop a digital twin of the microgrid system in Galena. To accomplish this, researchers are partnering with Kartorium, an Alaska-owned startup that specializes in 3D reconstructions/digital twin software. Throughout the summer, Peng worked on evaluating the data needed to build such a reconstruction, including documenting and analyzing load data owned by ACEP and external sources.

Another focus for the STORM project is educational outreach for community members and students in the Teaching Through Technology program. Peng’s passion for building teaching modules motivated her to use her computer programming skills to create an educational online game that teaches the essentials of a microgrid system. Using Godot — a cross-platform game engine for making 2D and 3D games — she successfully prototyped and designed a multi-level game to teach at all levels of microgrids, from defining a power generator to explaining the importance of a balanced grid.

“I’ve learned the importance of breaking concepts down, such as a complex power system, to bits and pieces to provide a fundamental understanding,” Peng said. “A simple approach is often better when creating an accessible and equitable teaching resource for multiple audiences.”

Throughout her internship, Peng conferred with several stakeholders for the STORM project and gained valuable perspectives on the interdisciplinary nature of the project. She learned the importance of effectively communicating with partners and ensuring Indigenous communities feel supported by ACEP researchers. Peng is proud to support ACEP's initiatives to build authentic connections with surrounding communities.

Peng’s game design will continue to be developed by ACEP researchers to contribute to a power systems curriculum. Furthermore, the digital twin will allow for microgrid and climate simulations to minimize the need for in-person testing. Partnerships with local Alaska startups, educational systems, Indigenous communities, universities and electrical utilities are important to implement an interdisciplinary effort to support rural communities affected by climate change.

This internship is funded by the National Science Foundation through the ACEP Undergraduate Summer Internship program. View the final presentation for this project on ACEP's YouTube Channel. For more information on this project, please contact Daisy Huang at dhuang@alaska.edu or Dayne Broderson at dbbroderson@alaska.edu.