Dr. Riley is a principal research engineer at Georgia Tech's National Electric Energy Testing, Research, & Applications Center (NEETRAC). She attended the Georgia Institute of Technology where she earned the B.S.E.E., M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees in 1992, 1993, and 1998 respectively. Dr Riley’s current role and responsibilities at NEETRAC include serving as a project PI, providing direction and management as part of the leadership team, and as an Associate Director with the primary responsibility of managing the NEETRAC collaborative research program. 

In her almost thirty-year career at NEETRAC, she has served in many roles beginning as a research engineer in hybrid & electric vehicles and advising undergraduate student programs in DOE’s FutureTruck competition. After working in NEETRAC’s hybrid and electric vehicles laboratory from 1998 – 2002, Dr. Riley transitioned to NEETRAC’s High Voltage laboratory and began performing research directly related to transmitting and distributing electric energy reliably and efficiently.  Her initial work focused on overhead system components (wildlife guards, switchgear, insulators) and underground system components (cable, joints, terminations) – the building blocks of the electric transmission and distribution systems.  

Dr. Riley has conducted research focused on the transmission and distribution of electric energy. Thirteen years of this period involved direct experience at increasingly responsible managerial levels. She is an industry leader in developing qualification programs combining multiple testing standards for extra high voltage (EHV) and high voltage (HV) cable systems that help manufacturers efficiently meet international market requirements. She currently a member of the IEEE PES Insulated Conductors technical committee and primarily participates in standards development efforts in the cable accessories subcommittee (Sub B).  

In parallel with her research efforts in the EHV/HV cable system arena, Dr. Riley has served as program manager for specific research thrusts (2011-2022) and now manages the NEETRAC Baseline research program. This research program consists of projects funded by the collective NEETRAC member companies – a unique collaborative group of both manufacturers and utilities.  In this role, Dr. Riley is responsible for the individual high level project oversight, mentoring of principal investigators/staff, development of new proposals, and dissemination of project results to the NEETRAC Management Board (three times annually).  

From 2011 through 2021, Dr. Riley served as technical manager and test engineer within NEETRAC’s ISO17025 accreditation for the high power laboratory. As the main point of contact for the partnership between NEETRAC and S&C Electric, Dr. Riley facilitated testing programs for the NEETRAC members, the collaborative research program and any entities requiring third-party certification programs at this facility. She was also NEETRAC’s representative to STLNA (Short-Circuit Testing Liaison of the Nations of the Americas) which represents laboratories in North, Central and South America at the Short-Circuit Testing Liaison (STL), the international certification body for short-circuit testing laboratories.  

Through her experience with short-circuit and high voltage testing of switchgear, Dr. Riley has been actively involved in the IEEE Power & Energy Society’s Switchgear Committee since 2018 and was elected to member in Fall 2020.  At this committee, she participates in the High Voltage Fuses subcommittee, the RODE (Reclosers and Other Devices) subcommittee, and the Technology & Innovation (T&I) subcommittee.