Meet a Solar Farm Scientist Who Wants to Help Native American Communities Become More Sustainable

Suzanne Singer of the Energy Department.

Suzanne Singer of the Energy Department. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

How one scientist is reaching out to tribal communities.

Suzanne Singer works as an energy thermal fluids analyst at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the Energy Department. Her main passion is in solar forecasting, which helps predict how much energy the panels in a solar farm will produce.

Singer's other focus is using her research to reach out to native tribes around the country. 

"One thing I'm passionate about is to help tribes become more sustainable using their own resources and intellectual capacity." Singer said. "The interactions between culture and energy and the environment is very important."

She also encourages students on tribal reservations to become involved in energy research and even follow a STEM career path.

"There's not that many Native American people who are studying energy or are familiar with what's actually happening," Singer said. "Being able to interact with students and younger people is really critical."

Watch Singer discuss the importance of STEM in the video from the Energy Department below: