Destenie Nock

Destenie Nock is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on energy justice, sustainable energy transitions, and equitable infrastructure planning. She develops mathematical models to address societal challenges in energy systems, particularly for vulnerable communities. Nock co-founded Peoples Energy Analytics, using algorithms to identify energy poverty and connect households with assistance programs.

Education: PhD in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (UMass Amherst, 2019); BS in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics (North Carolina A&T State University).

Research Interests: Energy equity, decarbonization impacts, transportation electrification, and policy analysis. She investigates how energy systems disproportionately affect marginalized groups and designs solutions to mitigate disparities.

Awards: 2024 Science Defender (Union of Concerned Scientists), 2025 Outstanding Alumni Award (UMass Amherst).

Grants & Funding: Six National Science Foundation grants, Sloan Foundation, and EPA support for projects on energy justice and equity metrics.

Labs/Teams: Leads research groups in energy modeling and policy at CMU, collaborating with utilities and policymakers to implement equitable energy solutions.