In conversation with Gretchen Schimelpfenig

Added on 15 July 2024

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In conversation with Gretchen Schimelpfenig

Gretchen Schimelpfenig. Photo: svensson

Gretchen Schimelpfenig is one of those people who seem to fit more into their working week than many of us find time for in a month. She works with greenhouse owners on energy projects and accessing rebates and grants, and runs Cornell University’s GLASE Consortium on greenhouse lighting and control, speaks at green industry conferences, and plays first fiddle in the Hildegard String Quartet. From a Vermont forest home, she manages to combine an engineer’s optimism, with a deep-felt mission to reduce the climate impact of horticulture and the built world.

You seem to approach life very purposefully? Where does that come from?

Gretchen: I have always wanted to help distill complicated information for everyone to understand. When I was eleven or twelve I saw a TV show called Design E². It was about real-world green building projects all across the world, and I was like, THIS is where I can be of service.

I am trying to do everything I can to mitigate climate change on an industrial level. That's why I'm an engineer, to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from energy use in all types of buildings.