Speaker: Nat Horner
Title: Eating the Elephant: the Federal Role in Electricity Sector Innovation and Grid Transformation
Date: 17 April, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: 3701 Wean Hall and via Zoom
Abstract
After a century of relative stasis, the grid is rapidly transitioning from a centralized, one-way, analog system to a decentralized, bidirectional, digital system. Dr. Nat Horner (EPP PhD '16), Director of Grid Cybersecurity and Communications in the Office of Electricity at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), thinks it's a particularly exciting time to be working on grid issues, and will visit EPP in person for a five-course discussion:
Appetizer: Key opportunities and risks of the ongoing grid transformation
(Alphabet) Soup: The role of DOE and its constituent elements in addressing grid issues
Main: R&D projects led by the Office of Electricity to enable a reliable, resilient, secure, and affordable electric system
Cheese: The necessity of bringing a multidisciplinary approach to this complex system
And, for dessert: Rewards of a government job, and how to get one!
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Nat Horner is the Director for Grid Cybersecurity and Communications in the Office of Electricity at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where he oversees technology R&D programs focused on securing the information networks that underpin the electricity system. His career has spanned the energy and national security domains, including previous roles in systems analysis, policy analysis, program management, and software engineering at the Pentagon, DOE, the RAND Corporation, and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Dr. Horner holds a PhD in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and master's degrees in systems engineering and computer science. He started his civil service career as a Presidential Management Fellow and completed the Cyber Leadership Development Program at National Defense University as a member of its inaugural cohort.