Emma Stewart

Non-Resident Fellow, Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology

Bio

Dr. Emma M. Stewart is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology, and a leading expert in power systems and critical infrastructure security, specializing in electric distribution, grid resilience, and industrial control system cybersecurity. She is the Chief Power Grid Scientist at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and serves as the Director of the Center for Securing Digital Energy Technology. In these roles, Dr. Stewart leads cutting-edge initiatives to strengthen the security and resilience of the power grid, addressing the critical challenges facing modern energy systems.

With over two decades of experience, Dr. Stewart has worked with international utilities, U.S. national laboratories, and organizations across the globe. Before joining INL, she served as Chief Scientist at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), where she oversaw a multimillion-dollar R&D portfolio and led programs focused on workforce education, information sharing, and incident response for electric cooperatives.  Emma has also served in roles leading interconnection analysis and planning for numerous utilities, and national labs over her 20 year career.

Dr. Stewart holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and an M.Eng. in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. She has contributed extensively to the field, with numerous articles and studies featured in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. Her research spans power distribution systems, consequence analysis for cyber and physical events, and microgrid technologies.

Recognized for her expertise and leadership, Dr. Stewart’s work lies at the intersection of secure power grid development, critical infrastructure resilience, and cybersecurity. She continues to advance national and global energy priorities by driving innovation in microgrid technologies, power grid modernization, and digital assurance for energy systems.