Having grown up on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, I have experienced numerous hardships, including housing shortages and poor quality of housing. I recall complaining as a young child and asking my mother why we had to put plastic on all the windows. She told me it kept us warm at night. With South Dakota’s extreme weather conditions in the winter months, it is not hard to imagine the amount of propane that was needed to keep such a poorly insulated house warm. Money was tight for a majority of the families in my community, so the District Council would provide additional funding to families to help offset propane costs. Even as a kid, I thought to myself, “There just has to be another way to heat homes that doesn’t cost so much.” From there, my interest in alternative energy resources developed over time and has since directed me down my current career path.

Currently, I am a graduate student at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. My thesis research focuses on sustainable tribal community development. In July 2016, I presented my work on net-zero-energy housing research on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation at the 2016 International Indoor Air Conference in Ghent, Belgium. In November 2016, I won first prize for my oral presentation on this topic in the engineering and physical science research division at the AISES National Conference. 

I am currently a year-round environmental engineering intern at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where my primary work pertains to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy. Prior to my NREL internship, I interned for two summers with Sandia National Laboratories in the Tribal Energy Internship Program funded by the Office of Indian Energy. While interning at Sandia, I researched many topics, including:

• Using geothermal heat pump systems to provide a source of year-round renewable heating for greenhouse operations on tribal lands
• Using renewable waste-to-energy technologies (specifically, microbial fuel cells) to treat wastewater and generate electrical output to sustain treatment facilities in tribal communities. 

While my internship research has focused on sustainable housing for tribal communities, I have also learned that, in addition to addressing some of the hardships experienced by community members, renewable energy can be the foundation for economic development on tribal lands. Through my experience as an Office of Indian Energy intern, I have also learned about funding and technical assistance opportunities available to tribes in the United States. 

The Office of Indian Energy College Student Internship Program at Sandia National Laboratories is a catalyst for engaging students. Essentially, the stimuli of field visits, strategic energy planning sessions, interactive meetings with tribal officials and community members, and so on create a spark for researching ideas, solutions, and development opportunities that can potentially benefit Indian Country. The program is unique in its design, unlike any other internship I have participated in. My internship experiences have provided insight into energy planning and project development that I believe would not have been afforded to me elsewhere, especially with such profound impact. My hope is to continue this research as part of my thesis work and use the knowledge and skills I have gained to develop my career.

For more information on Kimberlynn's research, see her presentation and research paper on microbial fuel cells.

Watch the Office of Indian Energy’s College Student Internship program video.