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McKenna Peplinski

Ph.D. Student 

Hometown: Maple Grove, MN

McKenna was born and grew up in Maple Grove, Minnesota. She attended the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota where she played Division 3 soccer and served as a board member for the school’s chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World. In 2019, she graduated from St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Peace Engineering. McKenna joined USC in the fall of 2019 and is pursuing a Ph.D. in the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Research Interests

McKenna is interested in the climate energy nexus and is investigating how both global climate change and urban heat islands influence energy consumption.

 Awards and Honors

  • Recipient of WiSE top-off fellowship- 2019
  • Recipient of USC Viterbi fellowship- 2019
  • Drexel University IExE REU Program – 2018
  • Academic All-American- 2018
  • Michael and Rebecca Thyken Fellowship- 2018
  • Tommie Award Nominee- 2018
  • Alicia Dudley Geiger Fellowship- 2017

 Education

  • Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering (Summa Cum Laude) – University of St. Thomas  (Sep 2015-May 2019)