2020 Kessler Fellows
Kessler Fellows is an entrepreneurship program rooted in the College of Engineering. The program is open to juniors studying a STEM-related field that have a strong interest in entrepreneurship. Students will engage in a semester-long immersion aimed to help them cultivate their entrepreneurial readiness before their summer experience with a startup.
Meet the 2020 Kessler Fellows
Audrey Gunawan
Materials Science
Audrey is working with Novomer, a chem-tech company that produces cost-competitive sustainable chemicals to replace global demand for petroleum-based chemicals.
"I applied to be a Kessler Fellow because I am passionate about sustainable packaging which is currently only being done at the startup level. I was very curious as to how startups work and what startup culture is like especially as a materials scientist rather than the typical customer scientists and electrical engineers that work at startups."
Yitzy Rosenberg
Environmental Engineering
Yitzy is working with Chloe Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm investing in women-led innovation companies.
"Our world needed engineering solutions yesterday! There are so many out there, but they lack the business capacity to make it. I want to be that capacity and become an enabler of the sustainable solutions that our world needs."
Lineker Ono
Mechanical Engineering
Lineker is working with Rosie, a grocery e-commerce and delivery platform that lets you shop with local grocers.
"I believe entrepreneurship is the vessel by which companies can effect massive change. For me, I would like to be in the forefront of the renewable energy shift in the automotive industry."
Jonathan Petrozzini
Materials Science
Jonathan is working with Element Farms, an agriculture startup with a mission to provide the best-tasting, locally grown, pesticide-free produce.
"I respect the risk and passion that entrepreneur's display through the process of paving their own path toward a better future that they envision for the world. I do not wish to be pigeonholed in an engineering position at a large company; I wish to understand all the multifaceted components that go into running a value driven company."
Conner Swenberg
Engineering Physics
Conner is working with Proxy, Inc., an IT startup that offers a new simpler way to access your offices, buildings, and all the things we interact with in the physical world.
"I joined Kessler Fellows to form a community of other passionate engineers/entrepreneurs, educate myself on how to build new ventures, and to have support behind me to pursue my goals for the summer and beyond."
Jordyn Goldzweig
Computer Science, CALS
Jordyn is working on Zing, an eLab startup that connects students with other classmates to prevent isolation and foster classroom community.
"I applied to be a Kessler Fellow because I wanted to grow my skills as an entrepreneur by working alongside the founder of an established startup and learn from the best."
Sam Brickman
Computer Science, CALS
Sam is working on Zing, an eLab startup that connects students with other classmates to prevent isolation and foster classroom community.
"I applied to Kessler Fellows because I want the opportunity to work at a bigger startup."
Grant Logan
Materials Science
Grant is working with CruzFoam, a startup that is powering industry leaders to be the catalyst for a cleaner enviroment.
"I became an engineer because I love to conceptualize creative solutions and improvements to trivial and pressing issues. Entrepreneurship, in my mind, is taking the risk of innovating and manufacturing a product to solve societal problems. Therefore, I believe understanding the fundamentals of entrepreneurship will galvanize my potential to establish an alternative-packing venture."
Marigot Fackenthal
Mechanical Engineering
Marigot is working with Glacier, an AI tech startup that developed a robot that can sort recycling to process trash more cleanly and efficiently.
"Aerospace engineering has been my dream for as long as I can remember. But upon finally diving into the curriculum, I began to wonder more about the ethics of the technology I was interested in. Kessler will allow me to explore taking my major in a whole different direction."
Shemar Christian
Mechanical Engineering
Shemar is working with Combplex, an ag-tech startup that provides beekeepers with automatic, safe, and affordable ways to manage Varroa mites year-round, and chemical-free.
"I applied to be a Kessler Fellow in order to give m the experience and knowledge needed to further myself towards my goal of building a successful tech company focused on products for different customers."
Yunyun Wang
Information Science
Yunyun is working with Iterate Labs, a bio motion data and analytics platform that powers workforce productivity, training, and safety.
"I have a really unique interest and specific idea of how I want to pursue it and turn it into a business venture. Through conversations with previous Kessler Fellows, I believe the fellowship will offer me critical support and beneficial entrepreneurship environment to help turn those ideas into reality."
Mary Feyrer
Mechanical Engineering
Mary is working with Facture Design, an early-stage product development and functional prototyping startup.
"I'm interested in entrepreneurship because I feel that most of the biggest innovation in tech and engineering right now are occurring at startups or in entrepreneurial spaces. I'm very interested in the fast-moving pace of the startup environment."
Samantha Hertle
Chemical Engineering
Samantha is working with AllBirds, a footwear company that uses a direct-to-consumer approach and is aimed at designing environment-friendly footwear.
"Entrepreneurship is composed of both creativity and passion as well as successful operation and advocacy of the idea or company. I have always communicated successfully and oriented my goals towards becoming a socially aware and purposeful engineer. Entrepreneurship provides that platform to take initiative and experiment with new ideas without the bounds of an average structured environment."
Corson Chao
Material Science
Carson is working with Dimensional Energy, a startup that makes solar fuels viable through efficient utilization and even distribution of sunlight in scalable reactor forms.
"I'm interested in entrepreneurship because I want to innovate in energy and sustainability but with the flexibility and challenge of paving my own path and molding the innovations and company goals into my ideas."