2022-2023 Fellows

Nikhila Balasubramanium

Nikhila is a fourth-year student studying Materials Science & Engineering from Cleveland.  She has lived across the United States, but visited India throughout her childhood to visit family where she has seen climate change manifest in severe droughts and floods.  This initially sparked her interest in pursuing materials research for renewable energy or developing clean energy technologies, specifically in solar or hydrogen energy.  On campus, Nikhila is involved in photovoltaic materials research, and she is currently co-oping at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory working on perovskite solar windows.  As a ThinkEnergy fellow, Nikhila is excited to gain industry exposure, entrepreneurial experience, and explore her interests within the many renewable energy fields.  Outside of class, Nikhila is involved in environmental activist student organizations, and she enjoys vegan cooking, yoga and reading.

 

Alberto Bocchinfuso

Alberto Bocchinfuso is an Italian fourth year Applied Math PhD with a master’s degree in engineering. He hopes that ThinkEnergy will introduce him to the field of energy production or distribution. He is particularly passionate about renewables and nuclear energy. His research in the Math Department focuses on inverse problems, Bayesian computing and FEM models, with particular focus on biological systems. He represents his Department in the Graduate Student council of the College of Arts and Sciences. In his free time, he likes listening to music, going to the orchestra and concerts, and wandering around Little Italy. He likes spending time with friends.

Keith Cartwright

Keith Cartwright is a fourth-year student from Gaithersburg, Maryland enrolled in the BS/MS program. He is majoring in Aerospace and Mechanical engineering and minoring in Materials Science Engineering. Keith’s Master’s program in Aerospace Engineering concentrates on thermal and fluid sciences, and he works in CWRU’s Computational Fire Dynamics Laboratory under Dr. Ya-Ting Liao. He is excited to participate in the ThinkNuclear program and looks forward to working with people with different academic backgrounds to learn more about the Nuclear sector. Once graduated, Keith plans to apply his studies of thermal sciences and engineering toward design in the clean energy sector. Outside academics, Keith runs Track and Field for CWRU and enjoys watching baseball, hiking, and meteorology. 

Shreeya Chugh

I am a rising sophomore undergraduate student from New Delhi, India, majoring in Computer Science. Outside of class, I serve as the Design Director of HackCWRU and Programs Director for the Entrepreneurship Club. Excited to join the cohort - as it would help me combine my interests in engineering and sustainability, and learn new skills from the interdisciplinarity of my peers. Over the summer, I have been working as a web development intern on project SciQuel at Harvard Innovation Labs, a publishing company aimed at promoting scientific literacy. I am a firm believer that software engineering is more than just coding, it is about solving problems and creating a positive and long-lasting impact, and I hope to implement this idea through the ThinkEnergy fellowship program - particularly, I believe that artificial intelligence is an imperative tool for an energy-efficient world. In my free time, I enjoy dancing, reading and exploring new restaurants in Cleveland.

Molly Egan

Molly Egan is a third year chemical engineering student originally from Connecticut but now living in Venice, Florida. She is involved in Greek Life on campus and is a member of Delta Gamma Fraternity and Theta Tau Engineering Fraternity. Molly is also on the Case Western Reserve Cheer Team and works part time as a box office employee for the Maltz Performing Arts Center. She is excited to use her opportunity as a 2022-2023 ThinkNuclear fellow to get hands-on experience in the field of nuclear energy. 

Aderinola (Derin) Fasipe

Derin Fasipe is a 2nd year Masters in Entrepreneurial Biotechnology student at CWRU. At CWRU, he serves as the Director of the Graduate Student Council’s Social and Special Events Task Force. Prior to his enrollment, he worked at HSBC Global Markets in London and graduated from CWRU in 2019 with degrees in Economics and Finance. He’s passionate about energy, particularly in developing economies. In his free time he enjoys making music, playing basketball, and cooking. 

Gillian Gervais

Gillian Gervais is a fourth-year undergraduate student from Columbus, Ohio majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Studies. She is excited to be a part of the ThinkEnergy Fellowship as it will allow her to explore her interests in renewable energy as well as broaden her entrepreneurial skills. On campus, Gillian has been a Sustainability Ambassador with the Office of Energy and Sustainability for the past two years. She also works at the Industrial Assessment Center where she provides energy saving recommendations to local manufacturing facilities. She loves to spend her spare time outdoors learning about the natural world.

Cameron Goodwin-Schoen

Cameron Goodwin-Schoen is a third-year Electrical Engineering and Systems & Control Engineering double major from Columbia, MD (right between DC and Baltimore). My current academic/career goals are to comprehensively understand the energy industry and to connect with leaders in the green energy transition. I am pursuing my interests in the design of renewable power systems, the sustainable development of infrastructure, and transitioning to a smart implementation of energy in urban landscapes. One day, I would like to join it all into revitalizing communities and combating climate change.

Outside of class, I am Chapter President of my fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, as well as a CCEL scholar. One of my passions is when I get the chance to  perform or scenic design for musical theatre productions. I also enjoy indoor rock climbing, woodworking, hiking, and good food. I am very excited to join the Think Energy cohort and to expand my knowledge through collaboration with my peers.

 

Tejaswini Haraniya

I am a rising junior majoring in macromolecular science and engineering with minors in biomedical engineering and business management from Vadodara, India. Over the past few semesters I have been working in Dr. Valentin Rodionov's lab and currently my research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of novel 2D carbon materials. The ThinkEnergy fellowship will provide me the opportunity to explore the role of organic polymers in solving challenges related to energy storage. Additionally, I also look forward to learning more about policy making and entrepreneurship in the energy sector. Outside of classes and research, I am the president of Phi Sigma Rho, a sorority for individuals in STEM fields. I also enjoy listening to music and host a radio show at WRUW-FM.

Aidan Klemm

Aidan Klemm is a third-year PhD student working under the advisement of Prof. Burcu Gurkan in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2020 from CWRU. His research focuses on the development of novel solvents and regeneration methods for direct air capture of carbon dioxide. He looks forward to taking a new entrepreneurial angle to his research through the ThinkEnergy Fellowship, and explore the world of policy pertaining to the field of CO2 capture and sequestration. Aidan is currently the president of the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Organization. Outside of the lab, he sings for the Church of the Covenant Chancel Choir and enjoys homebrewing beer and wine.

Jonathan Libenson

Jonathan Libenson is a fourth-year undergraduate student from New Hampshire studying Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Growing up amid the wind farms of the White Mountains, Jonathan has always had an interest and appreciation for sustainable energy. Jonathan is excited to learn more about these technologies through the ThinkEnergy Fellowship Program. Ultimately it is his hope to pursue a career dedicated to developing and implementing sustainable means of power generation and energy storage. Jonathan has worked as a co-op for General Electric Aviation and Safran Electrical & Power. While he finds turbo-machinery and generators fascinating, wooden boats still remain his favorite things to build and repair in his free time.

Kevin Maxwell

Kevin Maxwell is a third year undergraduate student from Mansfield, Ohio, majoring in Chemical Engineering and minoring in Music. He is very excited to dive deep into the ThinkEnergy program and collaborate with the other fellows. Kevin would like to use ThinkEnergy to discover how he can contribute to limiting the effects of climate change by shifting toward renewables. Kevin is currently doing polymer research in CWRU’s Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering under Svetlana Morozova. Outside of classes, Kevin is involved in several music programs, including Symphonic Winds, the Spartan Marching Band, and Clarinet Choir, as well as private lessons. He is also involved in other extracurriculars, including Cracking the Case, a mystery book club, Tau Beta Pi, an honors engineering fraternity, and the Mortar Board. In his free time Kevin likes to take care of his plants and bake.  

Natasha Rouse

Natasha Rouse is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, under Dr. Kathryn Daltorio’s advisorship. Natasha’s research revolves around the high-level engineering & fundamental science concepts associated with control systems. Natasha is currently implementing a biologically-inspired control system onto compliant robot designs. Within the ThinkEnergy program, she is excited to explore large-scale, renewable energy challenges from technical, business and policy perspectives. As a born-and-raised Barbadian, Natasha is familiar with the current global efforts in energy sustainability. She is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Natasha teaches partner dancing and travels for dance in her free time.

Michael Yan

Michael Yan is a rising fourth-year undergraduate student from Brooklyn, NY majoring in Chemical Engineering. His career interests are to reduce energy and environmental waste in industry through renewable resources and improve the health and safety of consumer products. He is looking forward to joining the ThinkEnergy Fellowship program to learn where technology meets policy, and how innovation must agree with feasibility and desirability as an introduction to entrepreneurship. He’s also full-time co-op at the Center for Layered Polymeric Structures (CLiPs) for the upcoming academic year, researching the structural and thermomechanical properties and behaviors of newly processed plastics. On campus, he also enjoys participating in cultural clubs and volunteering events. In his free time, he enjoys reading books, weight lifting, biking, practicing new languages and cooking.

Jose (Diego) Zubieta Sempertegui

My name is Diego Zubieta. I am an undergraduate junior studying Chemical Engineering and minoring in Applied Data Science. I am originally from Cochabamba, Bolivia. The past year I helped with research on novel approaches to energy storage and during the summer I further performed research on the durability and degradation of photovoltaic cells. This year I hope to continue with this research, help in the team for the Chem-E-Car competition, and get more involved in the movement to make the CWRU campus more sustainable. In my time in ThinkEnergy, I look forward to learning about energy in a more holistic way, from policy to cutting edge research, exploring the hurdles that exist in the energy field today and where I fit in the picture. In my free time I like cooking, I am getting better at baking and enjoy playing card games.