The POWER Team
xiaomian yang, Director
Xiaomian is an undergraduate student majoring in Materials Science & Engineering and minoring in Computer Science. She is passionate about environmental justice and equity in the accessibility and production of renewable energy. Outside of academics, Xiaomian enjoys reading science fiction, playing the flute, and taking care of succulents.
Diego Uruchurtu Patino, Manager
Diego is a 2nd-year PhD student in the department of Chemical Engineering, focusing on furthering our understanding of nanostructured carbon materials for catalytic and energy storage applications. Before Stanford, Diego studied chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Through POWER, Diego is hoping to promote STEM and energy-related education to ambitious students who can make a difference in these fields in the future.
Louisa Greenburg, Teaching lead
Louisa Greenburg is a third-year Ph.D. student in Materials Science & Engineering and is researching advanced cathode materials for lithium-sulfur batteries. Before coming to Stanford, she earned a B.A. in chemistry from Dartmouth College. She believes every student should have the opportunity to explore research and hopes to encourage enthusiasm for the energy field.
Dongjae Kong, Workshop lead
Dongjae is a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering studying electrocatalysts for water electrolysis. Before joining Stanford, he earned his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University. He is passionate about decarbonization in the energy field and believes that expanding education can play a crucial role in this goal.
Swati narasimhan, Education Content Lead
Swati is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science & Engineering studying graphite electrodes used in lithium-ion batteries. Before Stanford, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Miami. She is passionate about energy and hopes we can improve energy education accessibility in our community!
Sunny Wang, Finance lead
Sunny is a fifth-year chemistry Ph.D. student studying the interfacial chemistry of solid state batteries. Prior to coming Stanford, he received a bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Mathematics from the University of New South Wales. He is interested in educational outreach and hopes to create more opportunities for students to learn about science and renewable energy research.
Avni Vats, Off-campus High School Engagement lead
Avni is sophomore planning to major in Engineering Physics and minor in CS. She is passionate about climate equity and accessible alternative energy. Outside of academics, Avni enjoys travelling, hiking, photography & exploring Bay Area coffee shops.
ALISON SHAD, PUBLIC RELATIONS LEAD
Alison is a PhD student in Chemistry focused on exploring the capabilities of polymeric materials for various applications. Before coming to Stanford, she earned a dual B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and Chemical & Biological Engineering from Colorado State University. She is enthusiastic renewable energy and hopes to encourage students to learn more about how they can play a key role in shaping a more sustainable world.
Sonnet Xu, On-campus High School Engagement lead
Sonnet is a freshman at Stanford studying computer science with an interest in sustainability and artificial intelligence. She's excited to work with the POWER team to increase diversity in the field of Energy and teach more students about it!
POWER Alumni
Juliana Lu-Yang, Co-Director
Juliana is an undergraduate senior in chemical engineering, interested in developing energy-efficient, low greenhouse gas emission manufacturing processes. Through POWER, she hopes to encourage more pre-college students to become excited about both understanding and advancing the critical role energy plays in shaping the world we live in.
xin xu, workshop lead
Xin is a postdoc scholar in Materials Science & Engineering developing new solid electrolytes and coatings for solid-state batteries. Before Stanford, he studied fuel cells and earned his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Northwestern University. He is enthusiastic about this opportunity to build a platform where everyone can have free and easy access to energy-related knowledge!
Peter Benedek, PUBLIC RELATIONS lead
Peter is a postdoc scholar in Chemical Engineering developing carbon-neutral strategies for fertilizer synthesis. Before Stanford, he studied Li ion batteries and earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at ETH Zurich. Outside of research, Peter loves spending time outdoors and teaching people about ways to save our nature.