Principal Engineer Sterling Watson wins NHA's Rising Star Award

Natel Energy is proud to announce that Sterling Watson, Principal Engineer, Fish Safety, was awarded the inaugural Rising Star Award by the National Hydropower Association’s (NHA)'s Future Leaders of Waterpower (FLOW) group. Sterling received the award during the opening plenary of NHA's Clean Currents conference on October 9, 2024, in Portland, Oregon.

“Sterling’s leadership and dedication to advancing FishSafe™ engineering have been integral to Natel’s success. This Rising Star award is a well-deserved recognition of her hard work, her technical expertise, and her passion for protecting aquatic ecosystems. It also highlights the industry’s growing acknowledgment of the importance of innovative solutions like Natel’s FishSafe™ turbines," said Abe Schneider, Natel co-founder and Chief Technology Officer.

Sterling Watson’s work at Natel focuses on FishSafe™ turbine design, turbine performance assessment, fish passage testing, and collaborative engagement with the scientific and stakeholder communities. Her contributions reflect Natel’s mission to develop widely-applicable turbine designs that enhance sustainability while maintaining energy performance.

Sterling holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Outside the office, she pursues her passion for aquatic life through swimming, surfing, and sea foraging in the waters of San Francisco.

FLOW is a diverse community of young hydropower professionals who work together to leverage resources, opportunities, and connections to modernize waterpower. The Rising Star Award recognizes early-career professionals under the age of 35 who have shown exceptional leadership and a commitment to advancing the hydropower industry.

For more information, please contact press@natelenergy.com.

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Natel Energy is a technology & engineering company working to support healthy rivers, promote biodiversity and decarbonize the grid by developing hydropower turbines that are safe for fish. Through rigorous testing and refinement, Natel has achieved through-turbine fish passage survival rates of 98-100% across multiple fish species and life stages with its novel FishSafe™ runner designs. These runners have demonstrated safe fish passage even while operating at conventional blade speeds and maintaining high hydraulic efficiency. Natel conducts feasibility studies, performs fish passage and performance testing, and works with leading turbine manufacturers to implement its runner designs worldwide. Natel is a privately held company located in Alameda, California in the United States.