MIT Energy Night (Blog #001)

Srimayi Tenali | February 20th, 2018

The MIT Energy Club supposedly started at the Muddy Charles, and was a group of graduate students interested in discussing the latest energy topics over drinks at the end of the week.

Since then, the club has grown to be one of the largest at MIT and holds 3 flagship events. The first of those, Energy Night, strikes close to the original club roots. The annually-held Energy Night is a dynamic and large-scale showcase of the most exciting energy research, education, and entrepreneurship at MIT. Now in its 11th year, the event has grown to attract over 1000 attendees annually. It presents a myriad of interactive poster presentations from every energy affiliated department at MIT as well as early stage startups based on MIT technologies alongside hors d’oeuvres and a bar. The event’s goal hasn’t changed from the club’s original intent: Energy Night is meant as not only an opportunity to witness cutting-edge research at MIT, but also to spark conversation between students, faculty, community members, business leaders, researchers, and educators.

As undergraduates working on an almost entirely graduate-level team, Caitlin and I felt this firsthand. We had the unique opportunity to connect with people from all sides of the community, from faculty and MBA students to startup founders and energy investors. Interacting and discussing energy with individuals from such diverse and experienced backgrounds taught us so much about the transformational technologies and policies that are rapidly changing the field of energy.

This past year, Energy Night featured around 60 presenters, including Altaeros Energies, MIT Hyperloop, and EMBR Labs. As the Energy Night team (pictured below) walked through the museum, we heard conversations about research, about ideas old and new, and about politics, business, and life. Surrounded by a vibrant bustle, we were happy to declare the event a success.

Back row: Thorarinn Mar Kristjansson, Alexander Cyril Beltes‎, Guillermo Ivan de Loureiro                      Pereira‎, Matthew C Berchtold‎

Front row: Denise Liu, Srimayi Tenali, Caitlin Keegan, Lydia Li