Judith Brown Clarke Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Chief Diversity Officer | Stony Brook University
Judith Brown Clarke Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Chief Diversity Officer | Stony Brook University
Two high school students collaborated with researchers from Stony Brook University to develop energy solutions for the Shinnecock reservation. Nathan Qiu, from Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, and Vinav Shah, from The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, participated in a summer project focused on optimizing energy storage and use for the Shinnecock Nation, a Native American tribe on Long Island.
The project aimed to implement green hydrogen energy, with Qiu highlighting its practical impact: “This project bridges research and real-world impact. It directly benefits real-world communities by giving the Shinnecock Indian Nation a scalable, AI-driven tool for efficient energy management.”
Shah praised Stony Brook University for its support, stating, “I think that the Stony Brook environment is incredibly positive for research and it’s enabled a project like this, which is really unique. Stony Brook genuinely cares about community well-being.”
The research team included Peng Zhang, a professor of electrical engineering, Eliana Matsil, a chemical engineering master’s student, and Miriam Rafailovich, a distinguished professor in materials science and chemical engineering. Matsil noted the broader potential of the research: “It is important to emphasize the significance of this research within a broader context, as our goals to develop a sustainable and deployable solar-to-hydrogen microgrid system have potential to influence communities and establishments across the globe.”
Qiu and Shah earned the Best Youth Speaker Award at the Materials Research Society Conference, presenting at Symposium MTO2: Machine Learning in Action. Qiu expressed his surprise and delight: “When they awarded us the youth speaker award, it was really surprising, and it felt really good knowing that we were one of the best youth speakers at the conference.”
The experience has inspired Shah to focus on the intersection of energy systems and computer science: “I think now after doing this project, I’ve seen how energy is really important in people’s lives and can impact people, and going forward, I want to study some combination of energy systems and computer science.”
Both students expressed gratitude to the Garcia Summer Research Program for facilitating the project.
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