In this episode of Making Waves, host Ben Cary sits down with Steve Parker, a senior engineer and systems section manager at Kleinschmidt, to discuss a recent turbine inspection project. Steve shares his journey as a second-generation hydropower engineer. The conversation covers the realities of confined-space inspections, the technical challenges of erosion and cavitation in aging turbine units, and the importance of mentorship in developing the next generation of hydro engineers. Steve closes with an optimistic outlook on the future of hydropower, including new facility development and fish passage innovation.

Guest Profile: Steve Parker

Steve Parker is a second-generation hydropower engineer whose passion for the industry was sparked as a child visiting Bad Creek — a pump storage plant drilled into a North Carolina mountain that he describes as “the Batcave.”