Rachael Grudt (Khoury College ’21) is putting data science to work towards a net zero power grid

“We call ourselves scientists turned data scientists,” Khoury College of Computer Sciences ‘21 alumna Rachael Grudt said of her team at work. “We get really excited about the science.”

This October, Rachael came to the Silicon Valley campus to speak with students about her work at LineVision. The fast-growing startup partners with utility companies to safely increase the renewable energy capacity of the power grid, with the ultimate goal of a net zero system. They accomplish this using a combination of real-time sensor data, computational fluid dynamics, weather models, and their own proprietary algorithms.

Rachael’s scope of work includes building a custom data visualization for a client, reviewing scientific literature to inform new approaches, or working on modeling wind flow near a power site. Clients often present her team with open-ended questions like “How can we predict ice on the power lines?” and they get to work looking for the best solutions.

Her work at LineVision started with a cold email. As a Northeastern master’s student, she saw that the company hired co-op students, so she reached out with a carefully written cover letter. She had graduated from Tufts University with a BS in Chemical Engineering and spent several years working as a laboratory research scientist. The company’s work was a perfect blend of her background in science and her new career interest in data. It was a great fit, and after her co-op experience she was hired full-time after graduation.

Rachael finished her talk by fielding questions from the group. Her advice for students includes:

• Keep refining your idea of your career goals. Rachael has always known that she was interested in the intersection of energy and sustainability. She pursued this first through an internship working with biofuels, but found that wasn’t the right fit for her. After graduating with her bachelor’s she worked as a laboratory scientist for an energy company, but still wasn’t quite where she wanted to be. After taking a careful look at which parts of her job she did and didn’t enjoy, she realized how much she liked data science.
• Explore new interests. It was during her time as a lab scientist that she began experimenting with Python, which helped her know that data science was right for her.
• Do a master’s thesis. Getting the opportunity to pursue her own research with the guidance of faculty was one of her favorite experiences as a graduate student. “It was cool to really get to dig into a project for a full year, and get some great mentoring from my thesis advisor.”
• Spend time working on your cover letters. LineVision wasn’t actively hiring when Rachael reached out, but she clearly laid out for them how much value she could bring to the team and they decided to bring her on. Now when she helps with hiring, she stresses the importance of a good cover letter.

This event was hosted by Khoury College and attended by students both in person on the Silicon Valley campus and online. To attend an alumni talk in the future, keep an eye on the Bay Area Student Life events listing and the Khoury College events listing.

by Meredith Hutcheson