Jessica Granderson

Dr. Jessica Granderson is a Staff Scientist and the Deputy of Research Programs for the Building Technology and Urban Systems Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Granderson holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley, and an AB in Mechanical Engineering from Harvard University. Her research focuses on building energy performance monitoring and diagnostics, advanced measurement and verification, and intelligent building controls. She is the recipient of the 2015 Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Award for Leadership in Research and the 2020 Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer.

What inspires you to work in STEM or operations?

I was fortunate as a high school student to be introduced to the field of engineering through the MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program. My teachers encouraged me to pursue a STEM degree, and as an undergraduate I became inspired by the interconnections between what I was learning in my physical sciences and math courses.

I love being able to work in a field that is all about figuring out how things work, and how to improve the processes and technologies that are critical to our collective wellbeing.

What excites you about your work at Berkeley Lab?

The Lab offers an environment like no other. What I find most exciting is the opportunity to address our most pressing energy and climate challenges, with a real path to impact -- and to do so in collaboration with colleagues delivering world-class science across a range of disciplines.

How can our country engage more women, girls, and members of other underrepresented groups in STEM or operations?

We often point to the importance of access, mentoring, support, and seeing ourselves reflected in the field. Certainly, these were all important for me. I’ve also been thinking some about norms and expectations within STEM -- reaching the point where full representation is so core to our professional ethos, that it becomes as expected as things like peer review, or reproducibility.

Do you have tips you would recommend for someone looking to enter your field of work?

There can be a misconception that if we find scientific or technical work difficult, then perhaps we are not well-suited for it. That is definitely not true, and persistence is so important. I would also encourage others to try many different things – you never know what will really grab you, and there are so many satisfying and rewarding directions within STEM.

When you have free time, what are your hobbies?

I am all in for those 500-page, plot-driven novels that weave across multiple generations, or characters with separate lives that ultimately connect somehow. And word puzzles of all kinds.