Women @ Energy: Dr. Nikitha Radhakrishnan

Dr. Nikitha Radhakrishnan is an Electrical Engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with a focus on intelligent control systems design for energy-efficient buildings and resilient power distribution systems. Before joining PNNL in 2016, she was a graduate student researcher at the Berkeley-Education Alliance for Research in Singapore and received her Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She is actively involved in regional STEM outreach events as a STEM Ambassador with PNNL's Office of STEM education and is currently serving as the Secretary of the IEEE Women-in-Engineer affinity group for the Richland, WA section. 

I have always been good at mathematics, but in the final two years of high school, I developed an interest in physics and a talent in computer programming. I discovered and pursued electrical engineering as an intersection between my interests. Later, when I was ready for graduate school, I decided that I need a career that not only played to my strengths but also had a sense of service to the greater community. I started research in smart grids and their components to be of service to the millions of lives the electrical power grid touches every day.

Working at a national laboratory means your work meets the pressing needs of the nation and the world. Moreover, it is the perfect environment for multidisciplinary collaboration which is essential for research and development.

I think STEM professionals, themselves, can play a profound role in engaging more women in STEM. I regularly participate in STEM outreach events in my area and talk to kids of diverse ages and backgrounds about my work. I tell them about the interesting aspects of my work, the importance of it, and why I choose to do it. I also tell them the challenges I have faced in becoming an engineer, both personal and professional. Every event I attend has at least one kid who can relate to something I said and is motivated to fight hurdles to discover their path.

Develop the skill of self-reflection. Some days you just need to stop everything you are doing and think about where you are in your career. Doing that helps you see if the path you are going down is truly the one you want to take. We tend to forget the bigger picture in our day-to-day busy lives, and we need to be better about putting time aside to self-reflect.

I love dancing; it’s something that I have been pushing myself to do more of through professional lessons. I have recently been getting more into gardening as well. I like ending a busy day with something as simple as playing with my cats or taking a walk in the neighborhood park, and I have a special love for naps and ice cream.

Learn more about our programs & resources for women and girls in STEM at /women