Dr. Andrea Kraj brings a clear-eyed intensity and forward-thinking lens to everything she does—and her to-do list is a long one.

As an entrepreneur, professional engineer, assistant professor, and mother, Kraj is on friendly terms with hard work and long days. “It’s about finding the flow in your day and accepting that you need to take breaks to unplug and recharge,” she says. “You can’t underestimate the power of rest.”

As the newest faculty member in USask’s School of Environment and Sustainability, Kraj points out that there are important lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. “There’s an intensity that feels non-stop, but there are bizarre blessings in this mess. I’ve been working in a virtual office for a long time, and the sustainability benefits like not driving, reducing emissions and not paying for gas or parking, plus the time efficiencies—these are all huge advantages. If the pandemic has put anything front and center, it’s that it is time to examine our over-consumption.”

Kraj is a pioneering leader in developing sophisticated computer modeling and simulations of advanced energy systems, supporting the design, operation, and optimization of multi-renewable energy systems with storage for micro-grid networks. She founded her tech-company to address the growing needs for energy security in remote communities.

World travel gave her a global perspective on the way that power infrastructure (and lack thereof) can impact a community’s economic health, educational opportunities, and the physical wellbeing of the people who live there. “When I learned of cases in India showing women cooking using dung fuel, and the associated health issues like eye infections caused by it, it was devastating; that isn’t uncommon in many developing countries, but I was moved to change things based on this experience, and many others, such as blackouts and brownouts while conducting research overseas, exorbitant energy prices and lack of energy sovereignty. I knew there had to be a better way. Something like solar panels can dramatically change how people live, for example, having a reliable remote power source so that studying after the sun goes down becomes a possibility. But the solution isn’t in just one resource, it is in the complimentary benefits that interconnected multiple energy sources with storage provide.”

When she returned to Winnipeg, Kraj began to address the energy security issues in her home province of Manitoba where several First Nation communities operate off-grid using diesel generators and rural farmers crave economic development.

“Sometimes serendipity pushes you in a direction you wouldn’t necessarily think of going,” she says when asked about her career pivot from mechanical aerospace engineering to renewable energy. “It turned out to be a natural progression. My education and experience continued to build upon itself. I’m drawn to renewables because of their power to help communities be sustainable. Community power projects are integrated so that the community members are invested in it, and it’s integrated in such a way that the people have ownership over it, and it’s in alignment with the goals and beliefs of the community.”

As she continues to blaze a trail for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), her advice for those coming up after her is, “Don’t waste your time, just do it. Don’t look at the roadblocks or tolerate setbacks. Find your way around or through the problem.”

When asked what’s next for her, Dr. Kraj says she is excited to be driving renewable energy in Saskatchewan and co-leading the development of the new Energy Security program in the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan launching in September 2020, applying what she has built through her business and international experience and empowering local Indigenous and Northern communities through sustainable renewable energy practices. As she always likes to remind others, “Shine bright. You are brilliant and the Earth is hiring.”

Dr. Andrea Kraj is an engineer, entrepreneur, assistant professor, and TEDx speaker (Smart Cities Begin With You). Her podcast, Fempower, is available online (www.fempower.ca).