Erol Balkovic, a third-year from Bosnia and Herzegovina majoring in Engineering Physics:

1- Over your college journey, which class impacted you the most?

PHYS 317 Engineering Physics Lab. A class which was quite difficult but has enabled me to learn many skills important to doing science, and also to tackle problems which come up when doing any kind of technical project.

2- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

Pasta. There are just about gazillion ways of making pasta.

3- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

Heard about it from a presentation Mark gave a few semesters ago.

4- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

We are trying to solve the problem of Li-Ion battery degradation and non-invasive prediction of their state of health.

5- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

I am focused mostly on the technical side, working on the overall system, and developing processes that can be used to measure the state of health of a battery, cheaply, quickly, and without having to put the system offline.

6- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

Interacting with other fellows, all of whom are interesting people and have unique backgrounds and personalities.

7- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

I find it challenging to work on the business side of our idea since this is something I have never really done.

8 - What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

Grow connections for the future and gain a general overview of the energy field."

 

Evan Haug, a fourth-year from Elmhurst, Illinois majoring in Electrical Engineering and Systems and Control Engineering with a minor in Business Management:

1- What is your favorite thing to do at CWRU outside of the classroom?

Play Ultimate Frisbee on the Case Western Men's Ultimate Frisbee team.

2- What is your most treasured memory at CWRU?

My most treasured memory at CWRU was my very first day of class. At first, I was, of course, nervous but by the end of the day, I knew I was where I belonged.

3- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

I heard about it during an informational announcement before my thermodynamics class and knew it was for me.

4- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

The LEAF team is working on streamlining and simplifying the solar design/engineering process by creating an AutoCAD plug-in that automates most of the manual tasks commonly associated with a design.

5- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

My role on LEAF is the subject matter expert. I applied to GLEI with this idea in mind having had worked in the solar industry and had grievances about how time-consuming it was to design a solar array in AutoCAD and now lead the charge in automating these tedious tasks.

6- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

I have thoroughly enjoyed the weekly speakers that come in and present on relevant subjects in the green energy field. Sometimes the topics are not aligned with my particular interests, but I can always afford to learn something new and each week is something brand new.

7- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

In-class projects, problems are very clearly defined, and the expectations are usually outlined in a rubric of sorts. However, when you are innovating and working with an independent team like we at in LEAF, it can be difficult to create realistic goals and quantify our progress which can make it difficult to coordinate our group efforts.

8- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

Being a part of GLEI has given me so much valuable experience in everything from project management, organization, communication, and how to keep a forward-thinking mindset."

 

Paco Sheeran a third-year from Kansas City, Kansas majoring in Material Science:

1- Who is your role model in life?

Charlie Munger, Bob Iger.

2- If your soul were a song, which song would it be?
Centuries by Fall Out Boy.

3- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

Scalloped potatoes.

4- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

I heard about it through an email did some research and it seemed like a great opportunity to learn more about a growing and critical industry in society, energy.

5- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

Li-ion battery fires

6- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

Prototyping

7- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

Meeting with industry leaders

8- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

Trying to test our ideas.

9- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

Learn more about how the electrical grid is changing. "

 

Cooper Reif, a third-year from Chicago majoring in Mechanical Engineering with minors in Entrepreneurial Studies and Business Management:

1- What is your favorite thing to do at CWRU outside of the classroom?

Build Rube Goldberg machines! To name a few, I've built machines to turn on and off my lights from my bed, open and close my door from my bed, and I'm currently working on a way to get my apartment's trash into the trash bins from the second floor.

2- What is your most treasured memory at CWRU?

My favorite memory thus far has got to be Freshman year when my friends and I all used our special meal swipes at The Den to get only pancakes. The seven of us ended up with about 45 pancakes between us. It was very much a pancake-filled next couple of days.

3- Over your college journey, which class impacted you the most?

Definitely Mechanical Manufacturing (EMAE 160). It was my first foray into the world of SolidWorks and CAD, and I haven't looked back since. It jumpstarted my career in a direction that I'm more excited than ever to continue after college.

4- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

The biryani from Indian Flame!

5- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

I heard about ThinkEnergy through a former USG colleague of mine, Prince Ghosh. As a previous member of the ThinkEnergy cohort himself, he could not say enough about what an incredible experience the fellowship was, and just how much he had taken away the knowledge he had gained into the world after graduation. From that point on I knew that I wanted the opportunity to experience this same development.

6- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

Our team of five fantastic individuals is tackling the commercial rooftop solar installation process. Currently, solar engineers take multiple days to manually plan out solar installation projects in order to optimize the quantity and placement of solar panels, inverters, walkways, etc. Our goal is to automate this project in Revit to save these solar design engineers hours upon hours of work time.

7- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

My main role is being the head of finance, but I'm currently also working on customer acquisition with a couple other members of the team.

8- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

So far, my favorite part of the program has been the ThinkTanks. We've been able to have some fantastic speakers so far ranging from representatives of national labs to the VP of engineering of Siemens Energy. I can not wait for the great talks to come this upcoming semester.

9- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

The biggest challenge by far is traversing uncharted territory with my entrepreneurial team. There have been many exciting challenges that have surfaced, and I'm very proud of my team for overcoming them as one solid unit. Furthermore, it's great to know that GLEI provides so many great resources for entrepreneurship in the energy industry, so we never feel alone.

10- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

The overarching goal for my time in the ThinkEnergy cohort is to get my feet in the water doing something that really invigorates me. From the weekly talks to working in small groups on an entrepreneurial project, there really is no better way to learn about the energy industry and what the future has in store. I look forward to taking my experiences here and carrying them with me no matter where I end up after my time at CWRU.”

 

Jackson Smith, a third-year from Grove City, Ohio majoring in Materials Science and Engineering:

1- What is your favorite thing to do at CWRU outside of the classroom?

I love being on the rowing team because I get to see the sunrise on the Cuyahoga every morning during practice.

2- Over your college journey, which class impacted you the most?

My freshman year I took a class in the Materials Science department that was about touring different places in industry. It showed me all the opportunities there are for materials scientists and really cemented my choice to major in materials.

3- If your soul was a song, which song would it be?

Don't Stop Me Now – Queen

4- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

Vietnamese style noodles with shrimp

5- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

I had heard of ThinkEnergy but didn't really know much about it until Mark actually reached out to me and encouraged me to apply because they needed materials majors. I decided to apply because I wanted to learn more about entrepreneurship and energy.

6- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

My team is working on developing a Li-ion battery that would be less likely to cause battery fires. The batteries would provide the same experience as a normal battery but be safer for consumers.

7- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

I work as an engineer as well as doing whatever else the team needs.

8- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

I enjoy hearing the different speakers each week. There are so many different areas in energy that each week is something different and interesting.

9- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

For me the whole business and marketing aspect is really foreign to me. I've never been the kind of person that thinks about those things but they are very important to being an entrepreneur and having a start up.

10- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

I want to understand all of the different aspects of starting your own business as well as the opportunities for a materials scientist working in energy.”

 

Emalyn Delgado Rosario, third-year PhD student from Humacao, Puerto Rico majoring in Chemistry:

1- If your soul was a song, which song would it be?

Drops of Jupiter – Train

2- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

Pizza and wings

3- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

My PI sent me the information because it was relevant to my work

4- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

Li ion battery safety

5- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

Subject Material Expert

6- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

Getting to engage and learn about different companies that are working towards sustainable energy

7- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

Marketing Strategies

8- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

Deeper knowledge in energy and going beyond the world of chemistry to see things from a different perspective.”

 

Syeda Nur E Saba a second-year Masters student from Dhaka, Bangladesh majoring in Physics Innovation and Entrepreneurship:  

1- What is your favorite thing to do at CWRU outside of the classroom?

Taking long walks around the campus, visiting the botanical garden and near by museums.

2- What is your most treasured memory at CWRU?

Having dinners with my CWRU friends and housemates.

 3- Over your college journey, which class impacted you the most?

DSCI 452: Applied Data Science Research class

 4- If your soul was a song, which song would it be?

Let it be by The Beatles

 5- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

"Khichuri" aka spicy rice made by my mother.

 6- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

Through a senior from my department; to learn about the energy sector specially renewables and its prominent technologies.

 7- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

Predicting Lithium Ion batteries life cycles and forecasting degradation using ML.

 8- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

Project manager and business lead.

 9- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

Networking and knowledge sharing.

 10- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

Lack of in person meetings is effecting the productivity of my team - in my opinion.

 11- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

Direction for my future.”

 

Nolan Sundheimer a second year masters of business administration student with a focus in finance and business technology:  

1- If your soul was a song, which song would it be?

Almost any song by the Monkees (Daydream Believer, Monkees Theme Song, Steppin' Stone, Pleasant Valley Sunday, Last Train to Clarksville, I'm a Believer, etc.)

2- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

A buffet, you could get sick of some particular option after a month, plus its hard to find a food with universal sustainability. This option provides variability, and can increase my lifespan.

3- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

I heard about it when Mark presented about clean energy to the Weatherhead Graduate Programs.

4- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

We are focusing on making a phosphorous additive in the electrolytic solution to increase lithium ion battery longevity.

5- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

Financial Business Analyst

6- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

Being able to attend energy conferences to see the development of the energy storage business. Also having the chance to work alongside my team has been an absolute pleasure. Not only are they extremely intelligent with chemical engineering, but they also are incredibly diligent colleagues I would be lucky to work with on any project.

7- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

Learning all of the technical framework of scientific innovation. However, attending workshops every week has taught me a great deal on innovation with engineering.

8- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

I hope to be able to utilize business development skills to improve different assets within my future organization. I also get to witness new market trends within the energy market, and see the newest innovations which has been an unforgettable experience.”

 

Hein Htet Aung a third-year student from Yangon, Myanmar, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Data Science:

1- What is your favorite thing to do at CWRU outside of the classroom?

Going to Mitchell's Ice cream. My favorite flavor is Butter Pecan.

2- What is your most treasured memory at CWRU?

Seeing snow for the first time in my life. It was when I came out of KSL and I've never seen like it before.

3- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

Biryani. I can never get tired of eating it.

4- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

I saw a group from Think Energy Fellow Program presenting their project at a Saint-Gobain Competition at CWRU and that's also when I met Mark.

5- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

Our team is working to predict the battery health and life-time of Lithium-ion batteries.

6- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

My role on the team is on the business side such as doing market research and doing customer validation.

7- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

Listening to guest speakers and learning about their perspectives and stories.

8- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

The entrepreneurial side of the project is challenging for me but also exciting since this is the first time I've worked in a start-up type of project.

9- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

I hope to get a better overview of the energy sector and also make meaningful connections with people we are passionate about the same issues as I am.”

 

Joe Grzyb, a fourth-year from Sheffield, England majoring in Chemical Engineering with minors in Finance and Banking and Business Management:

1- What is your favorite thing to do at CWRU outside of the classroom?

I enjoy rock climbing. There's a gym nearby that I go to often.

2- Over your college journey, which class impacted you the most?

This is tough, I've had some really great professors and classes that I enjoyed taking their classes. I would have to say that heat transfer with Dr. Feke and electrochemical engineering with Dr. Landau have been most impactful.

3- If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

I would have to go with any type of sushi. I really like seafood and you just can't beat sushi.

4- How did you hear about the ThinkEnergy Fellowship and why did you apply?

I actually saw the mass email Mark sent out and thought I aligned with the program well and decided to apply! I've always been interested in energy and business so the program was a perfect fit.

5- What energy problem is your entrepreneurial team working to solve with a product?

I'm working on the Li-nnovate team where we are trying to produce a fire retardant electrolyte to increase the safety of lithium ion batteries.

6- What is your role(s) on your entrepreneurial team?

Currently I've been helping out with market research and helping build our pitch deck.

7- What is your favorite part of the program so far this year?

I'm really enjoying the whole process of creating a product. Giving a pitch at the TransTech competition was a new experience for me and I learned a lot from it.

8- What is one thing you find challenging in the program so far?

Until recently we were really struggling to find a lab to manufacture and test batteries with our electrolyte in, but thankfully we've managed to overcome this hurdle.

9- What is one thing you hope to get out of the experience?

I am excited to take away the experience of attempting to bring a product to market. It's been a great time enter pitch competitions and getting feedback on our product along the way.”