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Katherine Dykes, Ph.D. Candidate, Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research Interests

Katherine has researched and worked with a variety of applications in sustainable energy and transportation systems from both engineering and economic perspectives.

At MIT, she is involved with projects on the innovation and diffusion of wind energy technology. During her first two years, she worked with the Program on Emerging Technologies to develop a retrospective case study of the development of wind energy technology in the US and Europe. This has led subsequently to two projects. The first project uses system dynamics to model wind energy diffusion. In particular, this work looks at the role of system integration on the operational and economic costs of wind energy diffusion using input from a reanalysis study on 40+ wind integration case studies. The second project emphasizes the role of social and political factors in technological innovation and involves both historical case work and development of theory in the area of standards and innovation.

Beyond research, Katherine is active in the energy community at and around MIT. She is the founder of the MIT wind energy sub-community and a co-author for the US Offshore Wind Collaborative's white-paper on offshore wind energy for the US. Currently, she is engaging in collaborative research on innovation for offshore wind energy with researchers at NTNU, Norway as well as with the US OWC.

Research Methods: system dynamics, systems analysis, comparative case studies

Academic Background

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Ph.D. in Engineering Systems (June 2011 Expected)
  • The Ohio State University: M.S. in Electrical Engineering
  • The Ohio State University: M.S. in Agricultural, Developmental and Environmental Economics
  • University of Pennsylvania: B.S. in Engineering, Cum Laude (Electrical and Materials, Math Minor)
  • University of Pennsylvania: B.S. in Economics, Cum Laude (Statistics)

Additional Academic Programs:

  • La Universidad de Navarra, Spain: Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar (Spanish literature 2000-2001)
  • Santa Fe Institute: Complex Systems Summer School (Summer 2007)
  • Qingdao Teachers University and The Ohio State University: Chinese Language Summer School (Summer 2004)

Papers / Presentations

    Research Working Papers:

  • Dykes, Katherine (2009). “Historical development of wind energy technology.” POET Working Paper, MIT.
  • Dykes, Katherine (2009). “A Retrospective Study of Wind Energy Technology Development in the US: issues of foresight and interest groups.” POET Working Paper, MIT.
  • Clarke S., Courtney F., Dykes K., Jodziewicz L., Watson G. (2009) “US Offshore Wind Energy: A Path Forward.” US OWC Working Paper.

    Conference Presentations and Thesis:

  • Dykes, K and Sterman, J (2010) "Boom and Bust Cycles in Wind Energy Diffusion Due to Inconsistency and Short-term Bias in National Energy Policies" ICSD 2010 Conference Proceedings.
  • Dykes, K (2010) "Review of Selected US Wind Energy Grid-Integration Studies" WWEA World Wind Energy 2010 Conference Proceedings.
  • Dykes, K (2010) "Dynamic Models for Wind Energy Diffusion and System Integration: Aspects of Demand Response to Mitigate Forecasting Errors" EWEA 2010 Wind Conference Proceedings.
  • Dykes, K (2009) "Systems Analysis for Design of Offshore Wind Energy Technology" EWEA European Offshore Wind 2009 Conference Proceedings.
  • Dykes, K (2009) "Mimicking Network Structure Effects in a System Dynamic Model of Competing Technologies" ICSD 2009 PhD Colloquium Conference Proceedings.
  • Dykes, K. (2009) "Offshore Wind Energy Technology: A Systems Analysis" WWEA World Wind Energy 2009 Conference Proceedings.
  • Dykes, K. (2009) "Dynamic Models and a Retrospective Look at Wind Energy Diffusion" AWEA Windpower 2009 Conference Proceedings.
  • Dykes, K. and de Neufville, R. (2008) "Real Options for Real Communities: Incorporating Uncertainty into Small-Scale Energy Planning" ZEW Workshop on Real Options in Energy, October 2008 – invited speaker.
  • Dykes, K. (2008) "Governance in the face of externalities and network effects” GRC Science and Technology Policy 2008 Conference.
  • Dykes, K and de Neufville, R. (2008) "Real Options for a Wind Farm in Wapakoneta, Ohio." WWEA World Wind Energy 2008 Conference Proceedings.
  • Dykes, K., Brenner, M., and Ringel, S. (2007) “"Preparation and characterization of SiGe for Molecular Beam Epitaxy Applications" EMC 2007 Conference Presentation.
  • Dykes, K. (2007) “Preparation and Surface Characterization of SiGe alloys for MBE device fabrication” MS Thesis, the Ohio State University.
  • Dykes, K. (2007) “Market Structure, Trade Models and Non-renewable Resource Pricing” MS Non-Thesis Extended Research Paper, the Ohio State University.

Work Experience

  • IBM Corporation: System Dynamics Research Consultant (2009-2010)
  • Green Energy Ohio / The Renaissance Group: Wind Program Consultant (2005-2009)
  • General Motors: Controls Engineer for Hybrid Platforms (2004-2005)
  • EnerNOC: Data Quality Analyst (Summer 2008)

Associations and Service

  • IEEE Member (2007-Present)
  • AWEA Member (2007-Present)
  • Society for the History of Technology (2009-Present)
  • Society for the Social Studies of Science - 4S (2009-Present)
  • System Dynamics Society Member (2008-Present)
  • MIT Energy Club Executive Committee (2007-Present)
  • Founder of the MIT Energy Club Wind Sub-Community
  • Co-Founder MIT Renewable Energy Projects in Action


 

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