Gabe Bamforth and Eric Chan of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) were in the top-scoring group in the international Lab4Energy competition, an educational program run by Eni, a Founding Member of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), and Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation, in collaboration with MITEI. Lab4Energy is designed to promote awareness of energy topics and support students seeking to pursue higher education in energy fields. Bamforth and Chan traveled to Italy with their fellow winners for sightseeing and a visit to Eni’s headquarters. Bamforth, currently a senior at CRLS, said the following about his Lab4Energy experience: “I learned so much about the world from [Lab4Energy]… [T]he highlight of the trip for me was living with, talking to, and learning from kids my age from completely different backgrounds. Without [MITEI] and the Lab4Energy program, I would never have discovered the wonderful things I did.” Both students are interested in future studies in energy and engineering.
Eric Chan (left) and Gabe Bamforth at the Coliseum in Rome. In addition to sightseeing, the students visited Eni’s headquarters on their trip. Photo: Gabe Bamforth
This article appears in the Autumn 2014 issue of Energy Futures.