Creating a Sustainable Transportation  & Energy Vision for the 21st Century

www.AltWheels.org

 

KAREN PANETTA

AltWheels Regional Hero: Teaching women to be engineers

by building renewable-energy systems

 

Karen Panetta (far right) poses with the Tufts University

Nerdgirls and one of their renewable-energy projects,

which utilizes solar-photovoltaic cells.

  
 

·   Home: Rockport, MA

·   Current role: Founder and director of Nerdgirls; professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering.

·   Greening work: Nerdgirls is a volunteer project outside of Tufts University that organizes students to go into the community and provide engineering services to design and implement renewable-energy systems. In a recent project, Nerdgirls brought renewable energy to the last operating twin lighthouse in the United States, located on Thatcher Island, off the coast of Rockport, MA. In addition, they brought power to the houses of the island’s two lighthouse keepers. This project has enabled all three structures to retain their historic status.

·   Current project: Developing wireless remote-communications infrastructure to Thatcher Island; developing assistive technologies for the disabled.

·   Motivation: "I want to change the way our nation’s youth view engineers.”

·   Impact: The Nerdgirls’ project replaced all the energy sources for Thatcher Island with clean, renewable energy, which is now provided free to the island. There is no longer any need to buy electricity and gas, or to haul diesel fuel to the island. One-half of the island is run as a bird preserve by the National Fish and Wildlife Preserve, so the island’s energy needs are now provided in harmony with its status as an environmental preserve. All work was done by students, including those from Rockport High School. Nerdgirls has also conducted outreach visits to over 8,000 individuals since 2000, to promote the use of renewable energy and to introduce young people to the field of engineering

·   Economics/cost savings: Thatcher Island’s energy cost prior to the Nerdgirls’ project was $6,000 per year for electricity and $19,000 for other fuel, including gas and diesel. All energy needs are now provided free by renewable sources. All materials used to construct the project were donated by corporations.

·   Useful website:  www.nerdgirls.org

·   Recommended information resource: Elle Girl article on Nerdgirls, www.ellegirl.com/readarticle/7169