Backwater Carbon (Community First)
Siena Roselli (Public Policy & Environmental Thought and Practice), VS Vishal (Commerce), Vidushi Sharma (Environmental Sciences), Ben Davis (Applied Statistics & Economics), Camden Young (Economics), and Lucy Getacho (Government and Global Sustainability)
Mentor: Carolyn Schuyler
The Community First team proposes a community engagement model that gives local residents a meaningful role in planning and overseeing carbon storage projects. The team will deliver a toolkit that helps companies identify stakeholders, build trust, and communicate effectively with host communities. The team will also create a prototype public dashboard and a community benefits framework that demonstrate how stronger local partnerships can reduce project risks and support successful implementation.
Backwater Carbon (Capt)
Zachary Atlas (Commerce), Santiago Schmidt (Jefferson Scholar), Connor Keegan (Commerce), and James John Wilson (Economics)
Mentor: Ethan Heil
The Capt team proposes a business model that combines carbon storage technology with community-owned renewable energy projects to create long-term local benefits. The team will deliver an interactive site-selection tool that helps identify locations most likely to support successful project development. The team will also provide a financial analysis and a business plan that evaluate the feasibility of combining carbon storage with community-owned solar and energy storage systems.
Glanris Biochar (Clair)
Olivia Smith (Environmental Science) and Mutriba Sharipova (Psychology and Economics)
Mentor: James Groves
The Clair team proposes a practical strategy for turning the growing Sargassum seaweed problem in Belize into an economic opportunity. The team will deliver a business analysis that examines the costs, logistics, and operational requirements of collecting and preparing Sargassum for conversion into renewable energy products. The team will also produce an implementation roadmap that identifies the most practical and cost-effective approach for building a sustainable Sargassum-based industry in Belize.
Glanris Biochar (Solving Sargassum)
Keegan Hale (Statistics and Economics) and Renee Wells (Systems Engineering)
Mentor: James Groves
The Solving Sargassum team proposes a simple, low-cost system for cleaning, drying, and preparing Sargassum seaweed so it can be used reliably in manufacturing and biochar production. The team will deliver a working prototype that demonstrates how the process can be carried out using accessible materials and equipment. The team will also provide an analysis of costs, performance, and scalability to help determine whether the solution can be implemented on a larger scale.
Glanris Biochar (SargCrete)
Alexander Smith (Electrical Engineering), Enoch Liu (Computer Science & Mathematics), Luther Stevens (Mechanical Engineering), Brennan Wise (Mechanical & Electrical Engineering) and Roger Zhu (Systems Engineering)
Mentor: Reid Bailey
The SargCrete team proposes to create new market opportunities for products made from Sargassum seaweed, transforming a coastal waste problem from algal blooms into an economic resource. The team will deliver a market-entry strategy focused on products such as sustainable concrete pavers and other commercial applications. The team will also provide supporting analyses that explore opportunities for carbon credits and energy recovery, helping strengthen the long-term business case for Sargassum-based products.
Elevance Health (Current Care)
Henry Clark (Chemistry), Tommy Fan (Commerce and Applied Statistics), Tyler Swindell (Economics), and Ryan Colavita (Data Science)
Mentor: Garrick Louis
The Current Care team proposes a tool that helps healthcare providers identify vulnerable patients who may be at risk during power outages and severe weather events. The team will deliver a working prototype that combines health, weather, and outage information to support proactive outreach and assistance. The team will also provide a care-management dashboard and financial analysis showing how early intervention can improve patient safety while reducing avoidable healthcare costs.
Revolt Energy (Team EAN)
Elroe Midekssa (Mechanical Engineering) and Eyal Yager (Chemical Engineering)
Mentor: Gary Koenig
The Team EAN project proposes a process for turning materials recovered from retired solar panels into valuable components for new battery technologies. The team will deliver a workflow that outlines how recovered silicon can be assessed, processed, and reused in battery manufacturing. The team will also provide an economic analysis that evaluates the consistency, scalability, and commercial potential of this recycling approach.
Dominion Energy Innovation Center (GRID)
Shreyans Jain (Data Science) and Jalen Mui (Economics)
Mentor: Brian Park
The GRID team proposes a platform that helps identify households most likely to benefit from clean energy technologies and connects them with qualified installation providers. The team will deliver an improved customer-targeting system that estimates potential energy, cost, and environmental benefits from technology adoption. The team will also create a contractor marketplace prototype and business analysis that demonstrate how competitive bidding could lower costs and expand access to clean energy solutions.
The Solutions Lab is a pan-university program, built on partnerships with numerous UVA organizations and the community at-large.
An across-Grounds governance team has helped shape the program and select student teams. The governance team includes: Michael Lenox (Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business at the Darden School), Mark White (Carl P. Zeithaml Bicentennial Associate Professor of Commerce and Director, McIntire Business Institute), Paul Cherukuri (UVA Innovates), Christine Mahoney (Professor and Chief Innovation Officer, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy), David Lapinski (UVA Career Center), Ethan Heil (UVA’s Office for Sustainability), David Chen (Managing Director, Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research, Professor of Practice, Biomedical Engineering, and Assistant Dean for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Engineering & Applied Science)
“Working with university partners as well as industry leaders to both discover how research can solve real-world problems and give the next generation an opportunity to advance their ideas is mission-central for the Institute,” McGlathery continued. “I am excited to see what these students develop!”
