Biography

Dr. Jessica Whitaker is currently teaching in the Graduate School at Howard as an Adjunct Instructor, where she has designed the courses of Engineering and Managing Data with SQL and Harnessing Data for Energy and Climate Equity for the M.S. in Applied Data Science & Analytics program. With a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. all in electrical engineering (EE), and working for over 25 years of experience in public utilities, she is now employed as a general engineer with the Office of Electricity within the Department of Energy. In this role, she is responsible for deploying resilient electrical grid solutions involving cybersecurity, cloud strategies, and models using AI and other technologies. At Howard University, Dr. Whitaker received a Ph.D. in EE, a Graduate Certificate in Computer Security, a Graduate Certificate in Preparing Future Faculty, and served as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Her Ph.D. research focused on using AI for cybersecurity within the smart power grid to detect malicious cyberattacks on the underserved, energy insecurity, and energy poverty.