Chien-fei Chen, research associate professor in the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) award for her proposal, “Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI-R): Community-centered Decision-making Framework for Microgrid Deployment to Enhance Energy Justice and Power System Resilience.”

The award provides $750,000 over a three-year period for Chen to develop a community-centered decision-making framework and design for mobile community microgrid (MCM) adoption to assist low-income households and help power system recovery during extreme events.

The current power system is faced with serious threat by low-probability but high-impact events, such as storms and other external shocks. Storms and other natural shocks are found to be the top causes of power supply disruptions in the US. Vulnerable groups such as low-income households (LIHs) are likely to be affected by disastrous events, making it a critical energy justice issue to enhance the resilience of the power system for underserved communities.

Chen received the award in conjunction with principal investigator Yu Wang and co-principal investigator Zhaoyu Wang, both of Iowa State University.