Aakash will be spending ten weeks in Ahmedabad, India this summer with the company Re-Materials. The company makes affordable and sustainable roofs for houses in slums and poverty-stricken areas, and he will partake in the roofing’s research, development, marketing and installation. Aakash is a first-year Mechanical Engineering student from Edison, New Jersey and is a member of Formula SAE and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). In his free time, he likes to exercise, drive, listen to music and hang out with friends.
Giana is spending eight weeks of her summer in Nicaragua working for the non-profit blueEnergy in order to help evaluate the existing solar PV systems’ social and economic impacts upon rural communities. She is a second-year double major in Environmental Economics and Policy, and Society and the Environment. She is passionate about cute puppies, Chipotle burrito bowls, and long naps. Growing up in the Central Valley first sparked her interest in agricultural sustainability, and her Berkeley education fostered a dedication to sustainable energy and climate change mitigation. Giana is excited to explore Nicaragua (barefoot) and learn more about the potential for sustainable technologies in rural areas.
Daniel is an Energy Engineering sophomore minoring in Materials Science and Engineering. He will spend his summer in Berkeley, working on the microscopic visualization of energy flow through light-absorbing materials with Lawrence Berkeley Lab. His main focus and passion is the creation of future energy-harvesting products, as well as their integration into society. He is a committee chair for the undergraduate division of the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) as well as a finalist for a grant from The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) focusing on an energy audit of campus buildings. In addition to his passion for energy and his education, Daniel loves to play soccer for the Cal Club Soccer Team, surf whenever he can, and go on hikes (or other outdoor activities).
During the summer, Paul will be in India working with the Indian Institute of Technology – Kharagpur. There he will use experimental and modeling techniques to quantify the effects reactor mixing has on product yields in the enzymatic hydrolysis and the subsequent fermentation of cellulose to bioethanol. Born and raised in Nigeria, Paul’s interest in Energy arose from the erratic power supply in his country. He is a freshman majoring in Chemical Engineering and hopes to improve upon and research new processes for using sustainable energy. In his spare time, Paul enjoys playing soccer, chess and the piano.
Grace is a sophomore majoring in Materials Science and Engineering. This summer she will be traveling to Taiwan to research hydrogen fuel cells with Academia Sinica. Passionate about sustainability and alternative energy, she competed on Team Golden EnergTech in the US Department of Energy Better Buildings Case Competition and currently serves as a Project Coordinator for PowerSave, a group dedicated to energy efficiency initiatives on campus. She is also involved in the Society of Women Engineers and conducts research under Professor Paul K. Wright on printed energy storage devices. In her spare time, Grace enjoys music, running, dancing, and trying new cuisines.
Nicholas’ work focuses on renewable energy policy in Central and Eastern Europe. He will be spending this summer interning in Leipzig, Germany, with the largest applied research institute in Europe, Fraunhofer MOEZ. Nicholas is excited to return to Germany after a memorable and life experience-filled semester abroad in Berlin. During his undergraduate years Nicholas researched Pacific Northwest coal export proposals and environmental implications of human population growth. His senior thesis compared Thailand and the Philippines to demonstrate the connections between population growth, development, and environmental damage. He enjoys 80s rock and traveling in creative ways, and is passionate about biological anthropology and history.
Narayan is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Economics and Policy. He is excited to spend his summer in Bluefields, Nicaragua working with the non-profit blueEnergy, and will research technical aspects, financial aspects, and also on issues of social adoption of alternative water filtration technologies. He will work with the WASH team to assess the performance against that of blueEnergy’s current water filtration technology. Narayan is a member of the Berkeley Energy and Resource Collaborative and is passionate about reducing the world’s environmental footprint in an equitable manner.
Ace will spend his summer in Singapore, working with the National University of Singapore (NUS) to investigate the influence of electrolytes on the performance of sodium-ion batteries. Originally from Orange County, he is a second-year majoring in Energy Engineering with an intended minor in Electrical Engineering. His passions lie in alternative energy production and development. On campus Ace is a part of UC Berkeley Physical Plant – Campus Services (PPCS) where he is conducting research on HVAC systems in several campus buildings to come up with more sustainable and energy efficient filter usage. He is also the co-chair of professional development for the undergraduate division of Berkeley Energy and Recourse Collaborative (BERC), a member of the Cal Boxing Team, and a part of the Society of Engineering Sciences (SES) and a founder of the U.S. Green Building Council Berkeley Student Chapter. In his free time, Ace likes to read, play basketball, be around his family and friends, and travel.
I am a senior majoring in Environmental Science graduating in Spring 2014, and will spend my summer in Nicaragua working on climate change adaption solutions with the non-profit organization blueEnergy. I am very interested in all things environmental, including resource conservation, human behavior change, conservation biology and restoration ecology, climate change, waste reduction, and renewable energy. I enjoy learning new things, playing soccer and tennis, watching movies, playing the drums, cooking, traveling to picturesque nature vistas. My favorite ice cream flavors are mint chocolate chip and coffee.
Originally from Los Angeles, Katrina Jiang is a first-year Civil Engineering major, intending on emphasizing in Structural Engineering. This summer she will be interning at blueEnergy in Nicaragua, working on water sanitation and infrastructure. Her interest in water sanitation began in high school, and she hopes to incorporate sustainable practices in designing infrastructure. On campus, Katrina is involved with the UC Berkeley chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). As part of the CEE department’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, she and twelve other students in the program presented their poster research project on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, under the guidance of Professor Astaneh. In her free time, she enjoys crafting and dancing classical ballet.
I am a second-year Civil Engineering major. This summer I am returning to my home country of Kenya to intern at Shalin Finland, and will be involved with the design and implementation for efficient cook stoves, and also in the design of a ceramic kiln that uses heliostats for energy. I will also be participating in the linkage of vocational training institutes (VTECS) from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania through various projects to promote the local developmental needs: specifically energy, water sanitation and food security. I hope to play a major role in solving water, food and economic problems in my country through implementing renewable energy solutions at some point in my career after graduation. I am a proud member of acts2fellowship and the UC Berkeley Steel Bridge Competition Team. I also enjoy hanging out with friends and learning how to play the guitar during my free time.
Jie will be working at Chinese University of Hong Kong on a project about climate and city design. Born and raised in Taiyuan, China, she is a junior double majoring in Geophysics and Atmospheric Science. Jie is the leader of the China Focus organization under the Berkeley Energy and Resource Collaborative (BERC), and conducts research on campus at the Environmental Systems Dynamics Laboratory on wetland hydrology. Her three-year experience in tutoring students in public middle schools and high schools has inspired her to work in the field of science education. In her free time, Jie enjoys cooking, traveling and hiking.
I am a second-year Environmental Economics and Policy and Business Administration double major passionate about the energy industry, and I am very excited to spend this summer learning more about the European Energy Market at Fraunhofer MOEZ in Germany. At Berkeley, I have been able to pursue my passion and learn about energy efficiency technologies implementation as president of undergraduate division of the Berkeley Energy and Recourse Collaborative (BERC). In addition, I am currently working at Lawrence Berkeley Lab as a research affiliate in the International Energy Studies Group working on demand response programs and grid reliability in India. In my free time, I enjoy playing the ukulele, camping, and practicing Bikram Yoga.
Morgan is spending this summer at Imprint Energy in Emeryville, CA working on printed battery technology. She is a junior joint-majoring in Materials Sciences and Engineering and Chemical Engineering. Morgan has served as the webmaster and social chair of the Berkeley Materials Science and Engineering Association (MSEA). Upon graduating she hopes to participate in efforts to develop alternative energy sources. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, swimming, and any number of science-y pursuits.
Josh is a third-year Chemical Engineering major with a concentration in biotechnology. He will spend his summer in Brazil working on soybean metabolic engineering with Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), or Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research. Josh currently conducts research in Professor Allen Goldstein’s lab, where he analyzes gas and aerosol samples to shed light on atmospheric organic chemical reactions. He also works as a lab support technician in the College of Chemistry and as chemistry tutor through the Berkeley Academic Services Center. When he isn’t studying or hard at work, Josh enjoys learning new languages, playing the piano, and cooking. He also loves to travel and wants to live abroad in the future.
Alison is excited to spend the summer at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, researching dye-sensitized solar cells and organic photovoltaic cells. A native San Franciscan, she is a second-year Energy Engineering major and Public Policy minor. As a project manager with the UC Berkeley Science Shop through the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (URAP), she is investigating how emissions affect air quality at University Village. She is also the Faculty Committee Co-Coordinator of the Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholars Association. In her free time, Alison enjoys culinary adventures, dancing, musical theatre, telling terrible puns, and learning about as many new things as possible.
Jeanine is a junior majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology, but she has broad interests in biology. This summer she will be in Berkeley working with the Lawrence Berkeley Lab on the evolution of the microbiome during development of bioenergy crops. Jeanine currently conducts research on river ecology in Professor Mary Power’s lab on the UC Berkeley campus, and hopes to learn more about plant-microbe interactions and how these interactions can help improve the growth of bioenergy plants. In her free time, Jeanine enjoys being outdoors, hiking, playing piano, volleyball, and exploring.
Hi, I’m Rory Runser and I’m studying Chemical Engineering here at Cal. This summer I will be interning at Indian Institute of Technology – Kharagpur in India, where I will be working on bioreactor design and analysis, as well as carbon capture and recycle studies using microalgae. I grew up in Palo Alto, California, right next to Stanford, but managed to escape and end up at its far more awesome East Bay counterpart. I currently do research with Brett Helms at Lawrence Berkeley Lab on porous membranes and films for energy storage.I am a member of the Cal Triathlon team and my spare time is completely consumed by running, swimming, and biking, or eating. I am also a member of Berkeley Engineers and Mentors (BEAM).
Carielle Spangenberg was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. This summer she will be working in the Lawrence Berkeley Lab researching vehicle powertrain technologies. She graduated from Alhambra High School in Martinez, CA in June 2012. She is a third-year undergraduate studying Engineering Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, with a specific interest in Mechanical Engineering. Carielle’s other interests include Mock Trial and playing the violin, which she has been doing for nine years. She was a National Merit Scholar in 2012 and is currently a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
My name is Herman Wu, and this summer I will be working on data science research on Brazil’s clean energy usage with the Energy Biosciences Institute here at UC Berkeley. I’m a third year Molecular and Cell Biology and Mathematics double major at UC Berkeley, intending to graduate in Fall 2014. I enjoy tackling challenging problems, which is part of why I wanted to do research. I also enjoy reading fiction in my spare time, as well as just walking around outside on campus.
During his Cal Energy Corps placement with the National University of Singapore, Rathin is helping to investigate the influence of electrolytes on the performance of sodium-ion batteries. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, he is a first-year Chemical Engineering student with an interest in alternative and sustainable energy sources. Rathin is an active member of the Berkeley Forum, a non-partisan, student-run organization that plans panels, debates, and talks. He is also a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.