We are excited to announce that Prof. Jennie Stephens, SSEHRI affiliated faculty, and her team at Northeastern and the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez have recently received a National Science Foundation grant for their project, “Power in Puerto Rico: Sociotechnical Imaginaries, Infrastructure Publics, and Electricity.”
The project will, first, assess the broader societal implications of electric power through the lens of PR’s own electric power system in the 20th century; and second, compare and contrast different visions of PR’s energy futures before and after a disruption as devastating as Hurricane Maria. This study will also assess changes in energy visions since the earthquakes in PR and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to Prof. Stephens, the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs Director, the team will include Professor Laura Kuhl and Professor Ryan Ellis at Northeastern University and co-investigators at the University of Puerto Rico, Marla Perez Lugo and Cecilio Ortiz Garcia. Gloria Schmitz, a Northeastern PhD student in Public Policy, will also begin working on this project in summer 2020.