The problem usually turns out to be an energy problem.

I work on thermal and energy systems, and I like the part of engineering where you build the thing and find out whether it holds up — not just model it. Most projects start the same way: the problem looks like one thing, and turns out to be an energy problem underneath.

I led ThermOcean, a marine-energy desalination platform that ran on the ocean's own temperature gradient and cut projected water cost 51%. I've fabricated and tested hardware in the machine shop, taught thermodynamics as a TA, worked on microsystem packaging, and led the data analysis team at a startup, HUMN Capital.

Final-year mechanical engineering student at Purdue, heading into a master's — lately pointed toward where energy meets computing.