Faces of WISEST: Sarah Walinga

Sarah is a Sr. Power Systems Engineer at Tesla, where she works on interconnecting energy storage systems to electrical distribution and transmission grids throughout the world.

Her journey to become an engineer started with the WISEST Summer Research Program (SRP) in 2008, when she worked on a project characterizing the impact of compact fluorescent lightbulbs and other electronics on the electric grid. The SRP provided Sarah with the confidence to pursue electrical engineering, as she had insight into the types of problems that could be worked on as an engineer.

Sarah received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering with Distinction from the University of British Columbia. Upon graduation, she moved to San Francisco to work at the electric utility for Northern California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company. There, while in a rotation program, she worked on interconnecting renewable generation and planning the distribution grid.

After Pacific Gas and Electric, Sarah transitioned to be a Power Systems Engineer, beginning with SolarCity, then Tesla in 2017, with a focus on reducing barriers for integrating more renewable energy into the electric grid.

Sarah is grateful to WISEST and its coordinators, as the experience in the Summer Research Program made engineering more approachable.