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Green Technology Innovation Fellows Welcomes Second Cohort

By: Katharine Downey
Rows of solar panels in a field under a clear sky, capturing sunlight to generate renewable energy, with the sun shining brightly in the background.

Fourteen Cornell MBA students, PhD candidates, and a postdoctoral innovation fellow have joined the second cohort of the Green Technology Innovation Fellows program, an interdisciplinary entrepreneurship and translation program offered by the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

Developed to prepare participants to lead science-based startups commercializing sustainable innovations, the program pairs graduate business students with researchers developing such innovations. Together, they collaborate to design and de-risk business models that translate science projects into impactful products and services.

“This program is designed to cultivate the entrepreneurial judgement of the next generation of science-based startup leaders; they will transform Cornell’s research into successful, high-impact startups,” said Gregory Ray, PhD ’14, program lead and lecturer at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. “Our students are poised to be key drivers in the transition to a sustainable economy, playing a critical role in New York’s clean energy future and beyond.”

The program centers around Green Tech Innovation in Practice, a course in which teams participate in five workshop sessions from September to April as they de-risk business hypotheses derived from the researchers’ dissertation topics. With regular guidance from seasoned entrepreneurs, investors, and faculty members, participants will explore how to test their hypotheses and develop entrepreneurial judgment.

Empowering entrepreneurs to innovate in clean energy and climate technology

Upon completing the program, participants will have the entrepreneurial training, judgement, and mindset required to lead novel startups in the clean energy and climate technology fields.

headshot of Bashayer Aldakkan.
Bashayer Aldakkan

“I hope to gain exposure on fundamental skills in leading and initiating a startup and learning the challenges that come along in the process and the needed communication skills and approaches, said Bashayer Aldakkan, a PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell’s College of Engineering. “The program structure in matching me with fellow researchers and business students is exciting to me, as I hope to learn from the different perspectives outside of my domain. I also hope to learn from the stories of entrepreneurs who have gone through the process with its success, failures, and setbacks and learning the resilience skills needed to recover and succeed.”

headshot of Phoebe Kryritsis.
Phoebe Kryritsis

“I hope to learn what it takes to help start a business as someone who is not primarily bringing the research expertise to the table, but more the business operations side,” said Phoebe Kyritsis, MBA ’25. “I would also like to meet more PhDs and researchers in the Cornell network and expand my understanding of the entrepreneurship network beyond just the business school.”

Meet the Green Technology Innovation Fellows

Meet all the members of the second Green Technology Innovation Fellows cohort:

  • Bashayer Aldakkan, PhD candidate in Material Science (College of Engineering)
  • Shivranjani Baruah, PhD candidate in Plant Pathology and Plant-microbe Biology (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
  • Gregory Dessingue, MBA ’25 (Johnson School, SC Johnson College)
  • Fabian Gutierrez Ovideo, PhD candidate in Animal Science (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
  • Charlie Hale, PhD candidate in Plant Breeding and Genetics (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
  • Srinica Hampi, MBA ’25 (Johnson School, SC Johnson College)
  • Srikanth Karaikal, PhD candidate in Plant Breeding and Genetics (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
  • Colby Karel, MBA ’25 (Johnson School, SC Johnson College)
  • Phoebe Kyritsis, MBA ’25 (Johnson School, SC Johnson College)
  • Misaki Saito, MBA ’25 (Johnson School, SC Johnson College)
  • Yi Sang, PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering (College of Engineering)
  • Kevin Tan, MBA ’25 (Johnson School, SC Johnson College)
  • Tian Tang, PhD ’24 in Materials Science and Engineering (College of Engineering) and Innovation Fellow with the Physical Sciences team at the Center for Technology Licensing
  • Nilufar (Lily) Ruzieva, MBA ’25 (Johnson School, SC Johnson College)

Managed by the Center for Regional Economic Advancement, the Green Technology Innovation Fellows program is primarily funded by the SC Johnson College and the Johnson School, with added support from a Zalaznick Teaching Assistantship Award from Entrepreneurship at Cornell.

Green Technology Innovation Fellows will earn a certificate from the Johnson School after they successfully complete the program, which generally takes two to three semesters. Applications for next year’s cohort will open in November on the Green Technology Innovation Fellows program webpage.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GREEN TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION FELLOWS

Katharine Downey is a communications support specialist for the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, Cornell University.

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