Watson student helps Puerto Rico meet energy needs

As a high school senior, Rachael Kohler ’23 applied to only one college: Binghamton University.

After her freshman year, she chose physics and joined the Smart Energy Scholars program, which showed students how to get involved in renewable energy research.

“I found that while you could work in renewable energy as a physics or mechanical engineering major, it made more sense to change your major to electrical engineering,” Kohler said. “So even though I had to leave the program to do that, it put me on the right path. I realized that it would be a more direct path if I changed majors. I could work in that industry much more easily, with less research and more physical action.”

Born in Oneida, New York, she loved her time as an undergraduate at Binghamton’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science. She was active in numerous clubs and organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers and Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM).

“I feel like I made the most of my time at Binghamton. I really wouldn’t change a thing,” she said.

Kohler said being accepted into the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship program was a relief. She was at a crossroads after starting a full-time 4+1 program to pursue a master’s degree, but then she heard about this opportunity.

For years, she had wanted to do something like move to Mexico to study solar engineering, and this opportunity was the best option. She put her pursuit of a master’s degree aside and moved to Puerto Rico, where she and her peers were welcomed by the Cooperativa Hidroeléctrica de la Montaña, an electrical cooperative serving the remote mountain municipalities of Adjuntas, Jayuya, Lares, Maricao and Utuado.

Margaret Cech ’20, Kohler’s former mentor at the Society of Women Engineers during their time together at Binghamton, is a new Cooperativa Hidroeléctrica de la Montaña fellow, meaning two of the program’s three fellows will be headed to Puerto Rico next year as Binghamton graduates.

During her time there, Kohler has made an impact. She’s helped develop microgrids in the rural mountains, using the rooftops of small businesses and homes to create resiliency centers for community members who lose power the most and are the last to be reconnected after emergencies or power outages.

At these centers, residents can charge phones, use medical devices and refrigerate essential items such as medicines, among other things.

“This is driving change on a really tangible, recognizable, local level,” Kohler said.

It’s hard to approach the issue of electrification in Puerto Rico in a big-picture way, but she and her team have found that getting involved in the community can make a huge difference for individuals.

Kohler said providing practical advice on power outages during heat waves or hurricanes can save lives.

“You’re not going to change anything for the whole island,” she said. “You’re not going to change anything for the whole country. But it’s a matter of life and death for these little villages.”

Kohler also appreciated the networking opportunities during her fellowship. She met senior figures such as Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, whom she met multiple times and expects to meet again in the future.

“To be able to jump to the top as a scholarship recipient was something I really didn’t expect and it was amazing,” she said. “To meet someone and even be recognized by someone in the president’s office is amazing.”

Another benefit of living in Puerto Rico is that Kohler has significantly improved her Spanish, which she studied as a minor in her undergraduate studies.

It was such a positive experience for her that she recently renewed her contract and will continue working in Puerto Rico for another year.

But that’s not all. Kohler is continuing her 4+1 program part-time, virtually, at Binghamton University this fall. She’ll be conducting independent research tailored to the relevant information surrounding the work she did as part of her fellowship.

“I thought if I could kill two birds with one stone, it would be even better,” she said.

She is considering taking a project management course in the winter and will pursue a master’s project in the spring, which will likely involve microgrids.

“They (fellowship work and graduate school) are so closely intertwined that it would make sense to pursue them at the same time, given the unique position and access to all of these resources,” she said.

Kohler hopes to continue his career in Puerto Rico while pursuing graduate studies in Binghamton.

“Honestly, it was amazing,” she said. “I don’t think there’s another opportunity that could offer something like this.”