This summer, 24 students conducted energy research through the MIT Energy Initiative’s (MITEI) Energy Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). As integral members of their labs, the UROP students worked closely with faculty, graduate students, postdocs, and research scientists on impactful research aiding the clean energy transition and tackling climate change.
While the Energy UROP is offered every term, including during MIT’s Independent Activities Period, the summer UROP is unique in that it also provides a robust professional development program focusing on science communication and research impact. “The summer UROP offers an opportunity for students to improve their ability to connect their research to the real world, and understand the value of doing this,” says Aisling O’Grady, an education program administrator at MITEI.
Weekly workshops provided the students with the chance to practice, iterate, and hone their ability to describe their research to a wide audience, including future employers, funders, non-scientific audiences, and the general public. O’Grady says that students are developing “a most critical skill by improving their ability to communicate the value and importance of their research to those who are not well-versed in the inner workings of their project.” They will put this new skill to the test by participating in a research slam competition held during MITEI’s Annual Research Conference in September.
Students also gained understanding and practice considering real-world impacts of their research. One of the summer projects required students to create materials based on their research for high school teachers in collaboration with MIT Climate Action Through Education.
Since the program began in 2008, MITEI and its member companies and donors have supported more than 400 UROP students.
Meet the 2024 summer cohort:
Jad Abou Ali ’26, Chemical Engineering
Project: MIT Renewable Energy Clinic
Andrew Acevedo ’27, Chemical Engineering
Project: Multiscale control of copper nanoparticle DNA conjugates for improved electrochemical CO2 reduction
Rose Alsalman ’25, Computer Science and Engineering, Business Analytics
Project: Planning green hydrogen transportation for carbon-neutral grid operations
Tsolmon Bazarragchaa ’25, Mechanical Engineering
Project: Techno-economic analysis on molten salt thermal energy storage
Riddhi Bhagwat ’27, Undeclared
Project: Enhancing subsurface fluid flow and solute transport modeling through machine learning: A study of fractured rocks using FracNet
Evan Boothe ’25, Aeronautics and Astronautics
Project: Sulfonated polyether ether ketone empowered multifunctional supercapacitors
Joshika Chakraverty ’25, Chemical Engineering
Project: Examining nanoconfined fluid phase transitions within single digit nanopores
Matthew De Jesus ’25, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Project: Development of an autonomous boiling heat transfer experiment software platform
Tyler Ea ’25, Mechanical Engineering
Project: Mechanical design of 3D printed stainless steel plates for stellarator coils
Elise Echarte ’27, Mechanical Engineering
Project: MIT Renewable Energy Clinic
Matthew Garcia ’27, Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making
Project: Development of an autonomous boiling heat transfer experiment software platform
Javier Gil ’26, Chemical-Biological Engineering
Project: Biocatalytic enhancement of CO2 capture using recombinant carbonic anhydrase
Presha Goel ’27 Wellesley, Math and Computer Science
Project: Electricity price modeling
Vivian Guo ’27, Chemical Engineering
Project: Enhancement of CO2 capture using carbonic anhydrase
Rachel Jiang ’27, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Project: Characterization of GaN devices for high-temperature applications
Nebus Kitessa ’25, Mechanical Engineering
Project: Shoreline project expansion
Erick Liang ’26, Nuclear Science and Engineering
Project: Optimizing a lattice-based raft for reduction of L-PBF build plate warping
Vinn Nguyen ’27, Mechanical Engineering
Project: Addressing thermal cycling challenges in perovskite solar cells for improved stability
Joshua Rivera Camacho ’27, Mechanical Engineering
Project: Experimental investigation of natural convective heat transfer in the presence of bubble
Sonia Seliger ’26, Economics and Finance
Project: Electricity market design for incentivizing investments in battery storage
Sokh Visal Soeun ’26, Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making
Project: A data driven approach to sustainable forestry
Vandell Vatel ’26, Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making
Project: Decarbonizing New England’s electric grid
Katherine Zhou ’27, Undecided
Project: The place of provincial and international trade in electricity to maximize the value of Quebec’s hydro resources
Aaron Zhu ’24, Business Analytics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Project: Hardware and sensor design/optimization for an autonomous solar cell fabrication lab
Learn more about these projects, as well as about past UROP students and projects.