Jason Martins named 2018 Gates Cambridge Scholar

Jason Martins, currently pursuing his master’s degree in chemical engineering practice (MSCEP), has been awarded this year’s competitive Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

Martins will attend Cambridge University to earn a master's of philosophy in energy technologies. He plans to work on electrochemical energy storage technologies capable of meeting new demands with integrating renewables into the current energy generation mix. As a Gates Cambridge Scholar, he says he will seek to apply his research to creating a sustainable world for future generations.

“Scuba diving through reefs affected by coral bleaching in Southeast Asia, I witnessed the downstream consequences of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere,” says Martins. “In between my undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto, my work experiences in the wastewater, metallurgical, and nuclear energy industries introduced me to problems dealing with the environmental effects of energy production and consumption.” A fourth-year undergraduate project with industry advisers from NASA also exposed him to the possibility of transforming carbon emissions from waste product to valuable resource.

While at MIT, Martins became involved with the MIT Energy Club, and was the director of finance for the MIT Energy Conference, the largest student-run energy conference in the U.S. Attracting over 500 attendees each year, the conference facilitates discussion and exploration into enabling technologies for the future of clean energy, energy digitization, and existing energy infrastructure. “This opportunity to become involved in the broader MIT energy community has further solidified my passion for electrochemical energy storage,” explains Martins.

This summer, as part of his MSCEP program, Martins will attend two industrial stations of the Department of Chemical Engineering’s Practice School, where students work in teams to help solve real-world problems around the world. For the month of June, Martins will be heading to work at Saint-Gobain’s research and development center in Northboro, Massachusetts. Later in the summer, he will be stationed at the MedImmune headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In the fall he will begin his master’s studies at Cambridge.

“Being a part of Course 10’s MSCEP program allowed me to develop skills and ideas that I will carry with me through my future path in academia and industry,” he says. “I look forward to building upon these skills in Practice School and during my master’s thesis at Cambridge.”

Established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship provides full funding for talented students from outside the United Kingdom to pursue postgraduate study in any subject at Cambridge University. Since the program’s inception in 2001, there have been 28 Gates Cambridge Scholars from MIT.

de MIT News https://ift.tt/2IU7jc3