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Nicole Jacobs Brings Unique Perspectives to ACEP

March 27, 2023
By Yuri Bult-Ito

Nicole Jacobs recently joined ACEP as a research assistant, working with ACEP’s Erin Trochim. Jacobs works on the Alaska Energy Atlas, exploring transmission grid connectivity to determine the cost of connecting off-grid communities to regional and continental grids. One area she will investigate is grid connectivity and critical mineral mining, and how they influence region security.

Jacobs comes to ACEP with a broad spectrum of life experiences. Born in Alaska and raised in Germany, she first found her way into the emergency medical field. After changing course from her studies in nursing, she earned a bachelor’s degree in homeland security and emergency management and master’s in climate security, both from ������. She is currently completing a doctorate combining natural resources and sustainability with security.

In addition to working as a tutor, student grader, teaching assistant, and adjunct instructor while studying at ������, Jacobs worked for the Alaska Department of Family and Community Services, specializing in end-of-life care and dementia. She also interned for the Arctic Energy Office and will shortly be entering her second year of interning for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the Global Security Directive as a system analyst where she has worked on projects surrounding international Arctic collaboration, critical infrastructure protection, ransomware, and maritime decarbonization.

Armored with a diverse background and interests, Jacobs decided to work at ACEP because she was inspired by her “awesome mentor and committee member Erin Trochim.”

Jacobs’ interests outside of work are also broad, including ballroom dancing, women’s self-defense, ju-jitsu, gaming, reading, and planning for world domination as well as spending time with her two dogs. She is a big advocate for neurodiversity and dysautonomia, a disorder of the autonomic nervous system.

She enjoys her life in North Pole and Fairbanks.

“There is no other place I would rather be,” she said.