Anu Narayanan

Contact Information

Engineer

Pittsburgh Office

Education

Ph.D. in engineering and public policy, Carnegie Mellon University; B.S. in applied mathematics, University of Texas at Austin

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Anu Narayanan is an engineer at the RAND Corporation whose research lies at the intersection of critical infrastructure (particularly energy) systems and national security. She has led or conducted studies on this topic for the United States Air Force, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Narayanan's areas of methodological expertise include probabilistic risk assessment, scenario- and capabilities-based planning, and systems analysis. Narayanan received her Ph.D. in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University, and her B.S. in applied mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

Air Force Installation Energy Assurance
Characterizing National Vulnerabilities from Infrastructure Disruptions by Natural Disasters
RAND Support for the Quadrennial Energy Review
Valuing Air Force Energy Resilience
Deterring Attacks Against the Power Grid

Selected Publications

Narayanan et al., Valuing Air Force Electric Power Resilience: A Framework for Mission-Level Investment Prioritization, RAND Corporation (RR-2771-AF), 2019

Narayanan et al., Air Force Installation Energy Assurance: An Assessment Framework, RAND Corporation (RR-2066-AF), 2017

Narayanan et al., Characterizing National Exposures to Infrastructure from Natural Disasters: Data and Methods Documentation, RAND Corporation (RR-1453/1-DHS), 2016

Narayanan et al., A Modeling Framework for Optimizing F-35A Strategic Basing Decisions to Meet Training Requirements, RAND Corporation (RR-1546-AF), 2016

Anu Narayanan and M. Granger Morgan, "Sustaining Critical Social Services During Extended Regional Power Blackouts," Risk Analysis, 32, 2012

, Deterring Attacks Against the Power Grid: Two Approaches for the U.S. Department of Defense, (RR-3187-RC), 2020

Languages

English; Tamil; Telugu

Commentary

Thinking Outside the Grid: Q&A with Anu Narayanan
Anu Narayanan, an engineer at RAND, is a specialist in what-ifs. Her research focuses on critical infrastructure and national security. In this interview, she discusses her latest work that explores what would happen if a cyberattacker tried to take down the power grid.
Mar 5, 2020

Publications

Journal Article
Journal Article
From Awareness to Action: Accounting for Infrastructure Interdependencies in Disaster Response and Recovery Planning
We suggest that awareness of the vulnerabilities in interdependent infrastructure systems needs to be coupled with coordinated action and collaboration among government agencies, communities, and industries.
Aug 12, 2020
Report
Report
Building Agile Combat Support Competencies to Enable Evolving Adaptive Basing Concepts
RAND researchers review the motivations for adaptive basing, describe a footprint model used for estimating its implications for Agile Combat Support (ACS), and discuss recommendations for the ACS community and the U.S. Air Force at large.
Apr 16, 2020
Report
Deterring Attacks Against the Power Grid: Two Approaches for the U.S. Department of Defense
The Defense Department increasingly relies on electric power to accomplish critical missions. This report explores two approaches for deterring attacks against the U.S. power grid: deterrence by denial and deterrence by cost imposition.
Jan 6, 2020
Report
Valuing Air Force Electric Power Resilience: A Framework for Mission-Level Investment Prioritization
This report addresses the U.S. Air Force's need for a systematic way to value the risk to missions associated with electric power--related disruptions and accordingly set priorities among investments in power resilience.
Jun 3, 2019
Report
Air Force Installation Energy Assurance: An Assessment Framework
This report presents a framework that mission owners and civil engineers at Air Force installations can use to assess their level of energy assurance.
Nov 6, 2017
Report
Report
Articulating the Effects of Infrastructure Resourcing on Air Force Missions: Competing Approaches to Inform the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution System
Describes and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of several analytic approaches for linking infrastructure resources to readiness and for articulating the effect of infrastructure underfunding in the Air Force Program Objective Memorandum process.
Apr 17, 2017
Report
Report
A Modeling Framework for Optimizing F-35A Strategic Basing Decisions to Meet Training Requirements
This report presents a modeling framework designed to identify basing locations for the F-35A fleet and training range locations that minimize flying costs associated with composite force training exercises for combat mission-ready pilots.
Dec 14, 2016
Report
Report
Scenario Development for the 2015 Quadrennial Energy Review: Assessing Stresses, Opportunities, and Resilience in the Transmission, Storage, and Distribution Systems for Oil and Refined-Oil Products, Electricity, and Natural Gas
RAND researchers developed a framework and metrics for examining vulnerabilities, opportunities, and risks to U.S. energy transmission, storage, and distribution systems through 2030 under a range of uncertainties.
Sep 27, 2016
Report
Characterizing National Exposures to Infrastructure from Natural Disasters: Data and Methods Documentation
This report serves as the technical documentation and reference document for the data, methods, and analytic approach used in the analysis of national exposures to infrastructure from natural disasters.
Jul 12, 2016
Report
Current and Future Exposure of Infrastructure in the United States to Natural Hazards
This report describes insights about exposures from natural hazards now and in the future, as well as gaps in data that, if filled, could improve the nation's ability to assess infrastructure risk and improve infrastructure resilience.
Jul 12, 2016
Report
Policy Options for Better Service Outcomes from the Future Electric Grid: A Stakeholder Symposium
This symposium's goal was to identify important policy questions related to the present and future electric power grid system. This convening aimed to identify problem areas that could benefit from stakeholder-driven objective research.
Apr 18, 2016
Report
Report
Improvements to Air Force Strategic Basing Decisions
Examines the Air Force's basing decisionmaking process and assesses the quality of the underlying data.
Apr 15, 2016
Report
The Adoption of New Smart-Grid Technologies: Incentives, Outcomes, and Opportunities
RAND Corporation researchers examine empirical evidence related to smart-grid development, discuss some entrepreneurial opportunities associated with smart-grid data, and offer policy suggestions for overcoming barriers.
Jan 15, 2015
Journal Article
Journal Article
Sustaining Critical Social Services During Extended Regional Power Blackouts
This article outlines and estimates the incremental cost of a strategy that uses small distributed generation, distribution automation, and smart meters to keep a set of critical social services operational during a prolonged power outage that lasts for days or weeks and extends over hundreds of kilometers.
Jul 1, 2012