Biography

Cam Bracken is a Senior Research Engineer in the Water Resources Operations and Planning team. He specializes in hydrology and water resources modeling, high performance computing, advanced statistical modeling, and AI/ML. His research has focused on hydropower and other energy resources, streamflow forecasting, flooding and flood impacts, model calibration, and improving water resources operations and planning using both physics and data driven approaches, open research practices, and applications of modern technology.

Bracken joined PNNL in 2022, after 8 years working at Bonneville Power Administration, the Northwest River Forecast Center, and the Bureau of Reclamation. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, CO. He also holds a B.S. in Applied Math and Environmental Engineering from Humboldt State University, CA. 

Publications

2025

  • Akdemir K., K. Mongird, J. Kern, K. Oikonomou, N. Voisin, C.D. Burleyson, and J.S. Rice, et al. 2025. "Investigating the effects of cooperative transmission expansion planning on grid performance during heat waves with varying spatial scales." Applied Energy 378, no. Part A:Art No. 124825. PNNL-SA-201280. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.124825
  • Bracken C.W., Y. Son, D.P. Broman, and N. Voisin. 2025. "GODEEEP-hydro: Historical and projected power system ready hydropower data for the United States." Scientific Data 12:Art. No. 875. PNNL-SA-204744. doi:10.1038/s41597-025-05097-3
  • Son Y., C.W. Bracken, D.P. Broman, and N. Voisin. 2025. "Monthly hydropower generation data for Western Canada to support Western-US interconnect power system studies." Scientific Data 12:Art. No. 874. PNNL-SA-204049. doi:10.1038/s41597-025-05098-2
  • Wilczak J.M., D. Kirk-Davidoff, H. Bloomfield, C.W. Bracken, and J. Sharp. 2025. "Wind and Solar Energy Droughts: Potential Impacts on Energy System Dynamics and Research Needs." Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy 17, no. 2:022301. PNNL-SA-203375. doi:10.1063/5.0253058

2024

  • Anderson O.P., C.W. Bracken, C.D. Burleyson, A. Pusch, and N. Yu. 2024. "Improved Decarbonization Planning through Climate Resiliency Modeling." IEEE Access 12. PNNL-SA-195691. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3451957
  • Bracken C.W., N. Voisin, C.D. Burleyson, A.M. Campbell, Z. Hou, and D.P. Broman. 2024. "Standardized Benchmark of Historical Compound Wind and Solar Energy Droughts Across the Continental United States." Renewable Energy 220. PNNL-SA-186419. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2023.119550
  • Campbell A.M., C.W. Bracken, S.F. Underwood, and N. Voisin. 2024. "A Multi-Decadal Hourly Coincident Wind and Solar Power Production Dataset for the Contiguous United States." Scientific Data 11. PNNL-SA-194969. doi:10.1038/s41597-024-03894-w