ORISE poster session winner explores grid vulnerability in ORNL internship

Growing up in Bangladesh, a country affected by environmental challenges such as saltwater intrusion and flooding, Sk Nafiz Rahaman developed an interest in how individuals interact with their surroundings and how technology can be leveraged to address these interactions. This curiosity led to a passion for understanding resilience and finding solutions to pressing global issues.

Now a doctoral student at Mississippi State University, Rahaman is contributing to impactful projects focused on grid vulnerability and data center development through his participation in the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)-administered Graduate Research Program (GRO) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). As part of his internship, he is developing an interactive tool to visualize electric grid risks and analyzing the impact of data center growth on energy affordability.

In this Q&A spotlight, Rahaman talks about his journey in STEM, his experience in the GRO program, the research he’s involved in at ORNL and his aspirations for the future.

Tell us a little bit about your backstory and what motivated you to pursue a STEM career.

My path to STEM was sparked by an interest in how individuals interact with their environment and how technology can be used to understand that interaction. Growing up in a developing country like Bangladesh, I experienced the effects of saltwater intrusion, regular flooding and disasters on the built environment. These experiences stirred my curiosity about why such challenges were happening and how we can become resilient toward them.

During my early academic research and bachelor's program in urban and rural planning from Khulna University, I became deeply interested in geospatial science because it bridges environmental issues with technological innovation. As I worked on projects that showed how satellite images and machine learning could be used to map flooding, monitor changes in vegetation, and identify temporal trends and risks of infrastructure, I saw the power of data to address real-world problems. Eventually, that curiosity turned into something more than interest — it became a desire to utilize science and technology for the promotion of infrastructure and energy resilience.

Today, my research combines remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and machine learning to study ecological conservation and grid vulnerability. What continues to inspire me is the potential of STEM to create solutions that make our world more resilient and secure.

How did you hear about ORISE programs/opportunities, and why did you apply?

I learned about ORISE from the LinkedIn page Experience ORISE, and later my Ph.D. supervisor, Narcisa Pricope, suggested that I look into the Graduate Research Program at ORNL. I reached out to the Critical Infrastructure Resilience (CIR) group within the National Security Sciences Directorate to explore potential mentorship opportunities for an internship. Giri Iyer and Thomaz Carvalhaes kindly agreed to serve as my mentors, which opened the door for me to join the program.

The main reason I decided to pursue this opportunity is the significant impact the CIR group makes —not only in advancing academic research but also in contributing to practical, state-level applications of their work. Connecting with members of the CIR group made me realize that their research goes beyond addressing current challenges; they also consider how these problems may evolve in the future and what resilient solutions can effectively tackle them in the long term. The group’s ongoing projects are highly interdisciplinary, integrating aspects of energy resilience, grid vulnerability, affordability and environmental sustainability, which strongly motivated me to pursue this opportunity.

What is the focus of your internship, and what kind of projects are you involved in?

The environment within the CIR group is very dynamic and collaborative. I am currently a part of two ongoing projects. One project focuses on developing an integrated web tool for state stakeholders to interactively visualize where the electric grid might be vulnerable and identify the factors contributing to that vulnerability. The other project examines the rapid increase in data center development across the United States, exploring how this growth may affect energy affordability and what strategies state stakeholders can adopt to optimize data center energy demand.

Beyond contributing to these projects, what impresses me most about the CIR group is how invested my mentors are in my learning and professional development. They care not only about the project tasks but also about what I gain from this experience by the end of the internship. My mentors have encouraged me to identify a research topic connected to my own academic focus — one that could potentially become a chapter of my dissertation and extend beyond this internship. With their guidance, I have been developing a study on the spatial-temporal patterns of power outages across the United States, which aligns both with my research interests and the CIR group’s broader mission.

This research contributes directly to rural resilience and the development of solutions for vulnerable societies in ecologically delicate areas by identifying where and how power infrastructure weaknesses intersect with environment, for example invasive species that encroaches electric poles. By using a national-scale, spatial-temporal analysis of county-level power outages, the study reveals long-term outage trends and persistent “hotspot” regions—many of which overlap with coastal, agricultural and disaster-prone rural counties. These areas often lack redundancy in grid systems and depend heavily on electricity for essential services such as healthcare, water supply and communication. The study enables the detection of subtle, long-term degradation in grid reliability that traditional parametric models might overlook. Insights from this analysis can guide targeted resilience investments, such as distributed energy generation, microgrids and climate-adaptive infrastructure upgrades, ensuring that rural and environmentally sensitive communities—those most at risk from disaster-driven disruptions—are prioritized in national energy resilience and adaptation planning.

What skills or knowledge have you gained during your internship/fellowship so far?

I developed communication skills by learning how to prepare presentations that are less technical and easily understandable for a general audience, as well as how to engage in practical discussions focused on what clients and stakeholders actually need. I also became familiar with new energy-related terminology and learned about the key components to consider when working on grid resilience, along with emerging factors that pose threats to national security.

During your ORISE appointment, what professional development events or activities did you participate in that added value to your experience?

The major event I participated in was the ORISE Symposium 2025, where I presented a poster on my research titled “A National-Scale Spatiotemporal Framework for Power Outage Trend Detection Using EAGLE-I Data.” It was an engaging platform that allowed me to interact with fellow interns and discuss how our research contributes to the broader scientific community. My poster was awarded first place in the poster presentation competition.

Another upcoming event I will be attending is the Mississippi Water and Energy Conference 2025, scheduled for the last week of October, where leaders from Mississippi’s energy sector will gather. In addition to these conferences and events, the workshops organized by ORNL and ORISE — focused on CV writing and academic research paper development — have been incredibly valuable, serving as a significant investment in my academic and professional growth.

What has been the most rewarding or exciting part of your internship experience?

The most rewarding and exciting part of my internship is getting to know and connect with scientists who are deliberately working toward making our nation and the world safer and more secure. Interacting closely with these individuals has given me firsthand experience of how they balance their personal lives and demanding research in a facility that requires constant attention. I have learned about their deep commitment to science and the real-world impact they are making to create a better future for everyone. I feel proud to be part of this internship program, and every step has been a reward toward my professional development.

Have there been challenges you faced during this experience? How did you overcome those?

As a GRO intern, I initially struggled to develop a research topic since my academic background is not directly related to energy. However, the interdisciplinary perspective of the Critical Infrastructure Resilience group, along with the guidance from my mentors and group members, helped me construct a research idea that aligns with both my academic thesis and ORNL’s goals. The experience of overcoming challenges throughout this journey has been both exciting and rewarding.

How do you see this internship shaping your future career or academic goals? What are your long-term aspirations in the STEM field?

My ORISE internship at ORNL has significantly strengthened my commitment to pursuing a research career that integrates geospatial science, energy resilience and data-driven policy support. Being within the Critical Infrastructure Resilience group has expanded my understanding of how spatial data, when combined with energy systems analysis, can inform strategies for enhancing the resilience and sustainability of critical infrastructure at multiple scales. This experience has encouraged me to think beyond academic research — to envision how scientific innovation can directly support decision-making for real-world resilience planning.

In the long term, I aspire to continue working at the intersection of remote sensing, GIS and machine learning to advance research that improves our understanding of environmental and infrastructure vulnerabilities under a changing climate. Whether through a federal research laboratory, academia or a scientific organization such as NASA or Esri, my goal is to contribute to the development of data-driven frameworks that promote environmental sustainability, energy security and infrastructure resilience. The ORISE experience has not only equipped me with the technical and professional skills necessary for this path but also reaffirmed my passion for applying science to solve complex, interdisciplinary challenges that shape a more resilient future.

Looking back on your experience, how would you describe the overall impact and benefits of participating in this program, both personally and professionally?

Participating in the ORISE program has been one of the most transformative experiences of my academic and professional journey. Personally, it has deepened my confidence in navigating interdisciplinary research environments and strengthened my ability to adapt to new technical domains such as energy resilience and critical infrastructure analysis. Collaborating with highly skilled scientists and mentors at ORNL has shown me the importance of teamwork, communication and problem-solving in a federal research setting — skills that go beyond technical expertise and are vital for real-world impact.

Professionally, this experience has given me a clearer vision of how I want to shape my career at the intersection of geospatial science, data analytics and resilience research. I have learned how scientific findings can translate into actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, bridging the gap between research and implementation. The program has also expanded my professional network, connecting me with mentors and peers who continuously inspire me to pursue excellence in STEM.

What can you share about yourself outside of your academic and professional journey? Any hobbies or interests, favorite activities, hidden talents, or memorable experiences — like trips you’ve taken or dream of taking — that might surprise or inspire your peers?

Other than my academic and professional journey, I am very interested in photography and videography. I enjoy capturing photos of nature and wildlife, and I dream of exploring all the national parks in the United States to document their beauty through my camera.

The ORNL GRO program is funded by ORNL and administered through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). ORISE is managed for DOE by ORAU.