•Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate with 5 years of experience in developing energy materials and systems with both experimental and simulation work•Published 2 first author and 3 co-author papers demonstrating expertise across a variety of fields including heat and mass transfer, materials science, electrochemistry, and additive manufacturing•Proposed and conducted international Fulbright collaboration leading to design and implementation of a smart meter for a rural village electrification startup in Lesotho, Africa•Authored successful proposal to secure beamtime at a national laboratory resulting in enhanced understanding of metal additive manufacturing imaging•Demonstrated ability to thrive in fast paced business environments with experience gained from business plan competitions and working at multiple startups