麻豆精选

With the guidance of 麻豆精选鈥檚 Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, three Loyola engineering students are developing a new recyclable battery for electric vehicles. They won Loyola鈥檚 inaugural Greyhound Pitch Competition and progressed to the Hult Prize competition in Boston earlier this year.

鈥淲e aim to revolutionize electric vehicle batteries,鈥� said Adrien Lee, 鈥�28, of Rhode Island. 鈥淭he problem right now is they鈥檙e manufactured in a way that makes them difficult to recycle. The battery cells are welded together, and once the battery starts to degrade, you have to throw it away or try to recycle it. That鈥檚 an expensive, inefficient, and toxic process because of how they鈥檙e built. Our design will combat these inefficient and polluting processes.鈥�

Lee joins Connor Pavlik of Maryland and Carlos Cardoza of Nicaragua, also members of the class of 2028, to form ACC Industries. ACC blends the initials of their first names. The company first took shape at the Greyhound Pitch Competition, a two-day program that takes participants through the process of breaking down a complex problem, developing ideas, defining actionable solutions, and creating a business model for a venture.

鈥淥ur goal for the Greyhound Pitch Competition is to identify student entrepreneurs and potentially viable businesses we can help develop,鈥� said Jon Weinstein, entrepreneur-in-residence at Loyola鈥檚 Simon Center. 鈥淲e hit a home run with ACC. We鈥檙e providing as many different services and supporters as possible to develop their ideas. We have an outsized support system for student entrepreneurs at Loyola.鈥�

For Cardoza, Lee, and Pavlik, that support system includes Jack Barrow, 鈥�13, a Loyola graduate and leader in the renewable energy industry, who meets with the students, provides guidance, and connects them with industry contacts. Barrow is vice president and head of EV for EnergyHub as well as co-founder and CEO of BTR Energy. He and his mother, Mary Barrow, fund the Summer Research in Economics Fellowship at Loyola.

In addition, Weinstein formed a working group 鈥� a collaboration between Loyola鈥檚 Simon Center and engineering department 鈥� that meets with ACC regularly. Members include Weinstein, Suzanne Keilson, Ph.D., professor and chair of engineering, and Hossein Aghababa, Ph.D., assistant teaching professor of engineering.

鈥淲e have great professors here at Loyola,鈥� Pavlik said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to get to know them, and they鈥檙e able to get to know us, so they鈥檙e happy to assist with different ideas and projects. They鈥檙e interested in what we鈥檙e doing and want to help us achieve our goals.鈥�

This summer, Cardoza, Lee, and Pavlik completed the U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program. During the seven-week experiential training program, they focused on customer research and engagement and interviewed professionals in the EV battery industry. The coming months will be important for ACC, Lee said. They plan to build a small car powered by their batteries followed by a full-size model as proof of concept.

鈥淏uilding a company from the ground up is like an engineering problem,鈥� Cardoza said. 鈥淵ou have a list of problems to figure out, like establishing industry contacts or a good financial basis, and once you鈥檝e overcome those problems, you鈥檙e set in the right direction. Like in engineering, you need to solve the problems before you get anywhere.鈥�

麻豆精选鈥檚 in Baltimore delivers an internationally recognized Jesuit business education. Recognized for its scholarship, ethical leadership, and tradition of excellence, the Sellinger School delivers a wide range of sought-after fields of study including nine undergraduate majors and 13 undergraduate minors as well as full-time, part-time, and fully online MBA and Master of Accounting programs.