Destenie Nock is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon. The recipient of a National Science Foundation scholarship, Destenie completed her PhD in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her studies focused on the integration of renewable technologies in the power grid. In 2020, she was awarded a nearly $400k NSF grant to develop a framework promoting equality and sustainability in US energy transitions.

A 2015 Mitchell Scholar, Destenie received her MSc in Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems at Queen’s University Belfast. Studying in Northern Ireland allowed Destenie time to reflect and expand her academic abilities outside of engineering with an intense focus on writing and communicating sustainability initiatives and complex scientific concepts for the general public. As part of her program she had three internships – at an NGO, in government, and in business. The experience helped her realize that she would prefer to work in government or academia.

Destenie obtained her undergraduate degree from North Carolina AT State University.