The Student Innovator Awards support the bold and creative ideas of MIT undergraduate and graduate students that advance climate solutions or deepen understanding of the complex challenges shaping our planet’s future. Rooted in MIT’s tradition of hands-on innovation and interdisciplinary exploration, this opportunity empowers students to turn visionary concepts into action through awards of up to $15,000 in funding.
On April 15, 2026, the MIT Climate Project — in partnership with the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program and the Priscilla King Gray Center for Social Impact — announced 11 awards and $135,000 in funding.
Teams and Projects
Langa Food Sovereignty Network
Team members: Temuulen Enkhbat, MIT, Master in City Planning, May 2027; Laura Dallabrida, MIT, Master in City Planning, May 2027
Description of project: The Langa Food Sovereignty Network aims to connect the existing community gardens in Langa, one of the oldest townships in Cape Town, in a coordinated, community-led climate resilience and food sovereignty system through participatory mapping, grower training, and collective expansion of growing space along a transmission line corridor.
Low-Cost Green Hydrogen with Decoupled Water Electrolysis
Team members: Arun Johnson, MIT, PhD in Chemical Engineering, May 2027
Description of project: This project aims to demonstrate the scalability of a proof-of-concept design for a continuous, membrane-free water electrolysis device that “decouples” the production of hydrogen and oxygen gas using low-cost materials.
Methane Oxidation by Magnetically Enhanced Nanoparticle Thermocatalysis - MOMENT
Team members: Elijah Martin, MIT, PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, May 2027; Audrey Parker, MIT, PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, May 2027; Henry Price, MIT, PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, May 2030
Description of project: This project aims to use magnetic induction heating of catalyst particles to enable an energy-efficient route to oxidizing methane emissions that are too dilute to flare.
Mittinav
Team members: Vivek Mehta, MIT, MBA, May 2026; Siddharth Chauhan, Indian School of Business, Executive Program in General Management, May 2020; Pavan Sunil Bagrecha, Christ University Bangalore, BBA, May 2026; Gaurav Mehta, NMIMS Mumbai, MBA, April 2015; Yuhan (Rose) Wei, Boston University, International Affairs, May 2028
Description of project: The innovative Mittinav platform seeks to transform agricultural waste management by connecting rural Indian farmers with sustainable biochar technology that converts excess crop residues into valuable biochar, reducing harmful emissions from open-field burning while drastically improving soil health.
MyNerva.ai: Intelligence for the Distribution Grid
Team members: Kanchan (Kanch) Parmar, MIT, MBA Program for Executives, May 2027; Mariam Kiran, MIT, MBA Program for Executives, May 2027
Description of project: MyNerva.ai seeks to reimagine the power distribution network by deploying lightweight, edge-based AI agents at the grid’s most critical nodes for intelligent, adaptive infrastructure management.
NECTICA: Breaking the Cycle of Urban Flooding
Team members: Adeposi Adeogun, MIT, PhD in Urban Studies and Planning, May 2028; Gabrielle Bashizi, MIT, Master in City Planning, May 2027
Description of project: NECTICA tackles urban flooding in Lagos by empowering marginalized women-led cooperatives with a low-tech "Sorter Bin" to mechanically separate and monetize composite waste.
Nyumba ya Nyasi (Bioregional Vernacular on Indigenous Architecture)
Team members: Kenneth Oranga, MIT, Mechanical Engineering, May 2026; Mathew Letua, Tufts University, Economics, May 2026
Description of project: Nyumba ya Nyasi seeks to mainstream Indigenous architectural design languages into the cultural zeitgeist of the African Great Lakes region, using local materials and participatory design to improve housing quality while empowering local artisans.
Q’ochas Resilientes
Team members: Alison Rufo, MIT, Political Science and Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, May 2028; Kathleen Julca, MIT, Urban Studies and Planning, May 2025; Lucia Viviana Diaz Garcia, Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC), Chemical Engineering, December 2027; Stephanie Geraldine Lesslie Edith Gavilan Chino, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano (UNA), Chemical Engineering, July 2025
Description of project: Q’ochas Resilientes co-designs climate-resilient water technology in the Peruvian Andes to uplift ancestral knowledge and support agricultural livelihoods.
Resilient Grid
Team members: Alecia Asiamigbe, MIT, MBA, May 2026; Jordina Pierre, MIT, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, December 2028
Description of project: Resilient Grid collects and processes food waste through anaerobic digestion on skid platforms to produce biogas for electricity and heat in Caribbean island nations.
Unlocking Water Utilities as Thermal Resources for Building Decarbonization
Team members: Jason Chen, MIT, SM/PhD in Mechanical Engineering, May 2030; Angelica Knudsen, MIT, Mechanical Engineering, May 2026; Lillian Beliveau, MIT, Biological Engineering, May 2028; Li Xuan Tan, MIT, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, May 2026; Victoria Reguyal, MIT, Civil and Environmental Engineering, May 2028; Anoushka Tomhane, MIT, Economics, May 2028
Description of project: This project develops experimental and computational tools to evaluate how buried drinking-water mains can safely serve as thermal resources for low-carbon heating and cooling through thermal energy networks.
Waste Heat Recovery for AI Data Centers
Team members: Mohamed Yassen, MIT, Mechanical Engineering, May 2028
Description of project: This research seeks to develop thermal technologies that convert waste heat from high-density GPU racks in AI data centers into harvestable electrical energy, reframing cooling as an energy asset instead of a cost center.
The following project was awarded alongside the Climate Project’s Student Innovators through the iCampus Student Prize, which supports the innovative and creative application of technology to improve living and learning at MIT.
Building Cleaning Infrastructure for Reusable Drinkware at MIT
Team members: Shreya Agarwal, MIT, Mechanical Engineering, May 2026; Malia Smith, MIT, Mechanical Engineering, May 2026
Description of project: This project builds a point-of-use cleaning infrastructure for reusable drinkware at MIT, enabling fast, hygienic cleaning alongside existing beverage and refill infrastructure.
Other Inquiries
Please direct all inquiries to climate-sia@mit.edu.