Engineering the Summer is an annual series following UChicago Pritzker Molecular Engineering students as they embark on summer internships and career experiences.
A mission trip to build homes in Nicaragua instilled a passion for energy technology that eventually brought Yousuf Mitchell to the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME).
Mitchell, a Master of Engineering (MEng) student, is spending the summer interning for Chicago-based Sandbox Carbon. The company manufactures a proprietary device that captures carbon dioxide from gas-powered industrial equipment and safely disposes of it, keeping the pollutants out of the air and water.
Mitchell shared some of his experiences for UChicago PME’s yearly Engineering the Summer series:
What first sparked your interest in your area of study?
What first sparked my interest in energy technology was seeing first-hand the electrical grid made by underserved communities in Managua, Nicaragua, during a mission trip in high school in 2017. The residents had no electricity and made an electrical grid themselves. There was certainly a language barrier, but from what I understood, they built overhead electrical lines with the essentials: wooden posts, metal wire, and longer flexible wire to transport the electricity – but none of the materials were of seemingly strong quality. The posts and wires were all very thin and metal connections were just hot wires on the roofs that would deliver electricity inside. This is extremely dangerous, as every electrical connection should have some kind of ground nearby in case of a short circuit. This just was not possible with their limited space and resources. The overhead wires were also very low, maybe just a few feet over our heads. Additionally, not every house in the community had access to the electrical grid.
As I began to take classes in sustainability during undergrad, I realized it was about much more than science and nature, but also about people and community health. Discovering the Materials for Sustainability track at UChicago PME and the incredible research towards sustainable technology felt like a great step along this path.
What has been your experience so far this summer at your internship?
Working at Sandbox Carbon has been valuable for the interesting nature of our goals. We are always trying out new methods to find the most effective solution to capturing carbon. The founder David Griggs has allowed me to step into multiple different roles to understand processes and research testing experiments from people at Sandbox who have knowledge in different backgrounds. He encourages me to sit in on meetings and contribute however I can to ensure that I am reaping valuable insight into the Sandbox Carbon mission from multiple angles.
What do you find most exciting about your internship?
The most exciting aspect for me is trying out new things when it comes to making our product. Bringing together different materials and observing the differences in their properties that are most suitable for our purposes.
What impact do you think your field will have on the world in the next 10 to 20 years?
Sustainability is necessary in every facet of life, not just energy and environment. But while the rest of the world continues to function as it always has, projects like this will become imperative in allowing the world to continue in the same way. Change is necessary across every industry, but it is slow. I believe that sustainable energy and emissions solutions are key in giving us more time and wiggle room.
What role do you hope to play in that vision of the future?
I hope to work in research and development at the industry level, much like Sandbox Carbon, which is looking to provide real-world solutions. There are numerous companies around the world attempting to tackle the challenge of carbon emissions and renewable energy. I hope to contribute to these projects with the goal that communities like the one I saw in Managua, Nicaragua, can produce energy efficiently and affordably. Solving this one issue, I believe, will open abundant opportunities to build the necessary progressive infrastructure around the world.