Purpose

Longhorn Energy seeks to leverage the world-class academic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular energy opportunities at UT for the betterment of all members of the UT community. In particular, the aim of this organization shall be to build community and collaboration between students at UT, support energy-related activities and events, and to aid members in pursuit of energy careers.


Leadership Board

President
Cockrell School of Engineering

Debjyoti Chatterjee

Debjyoti is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He is part of the Power Electronics and Systems Group, advised by Dr. Brian Johnson. His research interests include grid-forming inverter modeling and control, and power electronic interfaces for renewable integration. Debjyoti is actively working towards grid modernization, decarbonization, and energy innovation. He is a graduate student member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society and a Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy (TEX-E) fellow with the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at MIT and Greentown Labs. In recognition of his overall achievements, Debjyoti has been honored with multiple fellowships, including the George J. Heuer, Jr. Ph.D. Endowed Graduate Fellowship [2023] and the Charles M. Simmons Endowed Presidential Fellowship in Engineering [2021] awarded by the Cockrell School of Engineering, UT Austin. 

 

Vice Chair
Cockrell School of Engineering

Benjamin Stormer

Benjamin Stormer is an undergraduate student in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He will have been a proud and active member of the Longhorn Energy Club for four years by the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. In his time at the Longhorn Energy Club, Benjamin has been interested in all things clean energy, as well as the intersection of energy and computation/computer science. He has served as LEC’s Vice President of Research, Vice President of Entrepreneurship, and the Vice Chair. Outside of his roles with LEC, Benjamin is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, National Organization of Business and Engineering, and is a two-time award winner of the Hildebrand Energy AI Hackathon.

 

VP of Events
College of Liberal Arts

Nazmun Samiya

Nazmun Samiya is an undergraduate student at the College of Liberal Arts studying Economics and Energy Management at The University of Texas at Austin. Nazmun is a fellow of the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy (TEX-E) program. She is as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at Bureau of Economic Geology- Texnet. This fall she will serve as a representative for energy students at The KBH Energy Center's Student Advisory Council. She is a member of Geothermal Rising, the Seismological Society of America, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Beyond her involvement with Energy, she is a brand ambassador for Rorn Apparel, indulges in her love for fashion, traveling, and fitness.

 

VP of Research
Cockrell School of Engineering

Soham Roy

Soham Roy received the B.Tech. degree in Electrical Engineering (Power and Automation) from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 2018, and M.S. degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 2020. After working as a power supply design engineer at TDK-Lambda Americas for two years, he is currently working towards his Ph.D. degree at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a part of the Power Electronics and Magnetics Group, advised by Dr. Alex Hanson. His current research focuses on compact pulsed power systems using GaN devices and high-efficiency magnetic structures. He is also a graduate student member of IEEE and the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS).

 

VP of Professional Development
Cockrell School of Engineering

Ali Kothawala

Ali holds a master’s degree in transportation technology & policy from the University of California Davis and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with top honors from the College of Engineering Pune in India. As a transportation planner, he studies how people use alternative transportation modes like e-scooters, e-bikes, ridehailing, carsharing, automated vehicles, and urban air mobility so we can plan for a safe, equitable, and efficient transportation system. Ali’s analysis has been used to plan millions of dollars-worth of investments in commuter rail systems, bus transit traffic signal prioritization, mixed-use and commercial developments, and citywide plans. His most recent project involved transportation planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. He has worked closely with Nissan, BMW Group, Ford and Hitachi on mobility research and strategic planning. Before coming to the States, Ali won a prestigious fellowship to work with top Indian bureaucrats on public transit, transport electrification, rural sanitation, renewable energy, and governance issues.

 

VP of Entrepreneurship

Cockrell School of Engineering

Jonathan Naoukin

Jonathan Naoukin is a 2nd Year B.S. Mathematics major interested in Applied/Computational Math and Entrepreneurship. He is also a TEX-E Fellow working in the Cleantech space.

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