Greentown Labs Hosts Oliners for Week of Recruitment, Exploration and Partnerships.

March 10, 2022

Olin College students, faculty and staff embrace a model of teaching and learning engineering that is centered on collaboration, exploration and hands-on experience – and this week’s events with Somerville startup incubator and climatech pioneers, Greentown Labs (GTL), is a noteworthy illustration of just that. 

The goal of the week according to Sally Phelps, Director of Post-Graduate Planning at Olin, was to introduce the 200 ClimateTech companies at Greentown Somerville and Houston to Olin professors, students, staff and alumni for purposes of intern and full-time recruitment, exploration and deeper partnerships.

'Getting to Know Olin' Events

Kicking off the week's events, on Tuesday, March 8, twelve Olin students attended GTL Somerville’s Career Fair, getting the advantageous opportunity to speak face-to-face with twenty-eight of Greentown's member companies about internships for this summer. 

Olin students attend GTL Somerville’s Career Fair on March 8, 2022.
Olin students attend the bustling GTL Career Fair on March 8.

Then on Wednesday, March 9, as part of a ‘Getting to Know Olin’ DayDr. Ben Linder, Professor of Design and Mechanical Engineering, along with students James Ho ‘23 and Adi Sudhakar ‘23, hosted office hours onsite where they spoke with Greentown engineers about their businesses. 

Junior Adi Sudhakar and Senior James Ho discuss their new business idea YDOT – a testing platform -  with Greentown Labs engineers.
Adi Sudhakar '23 and James Ho '23 (background) discuss their new business idea YDOT – a testing platform -  with Greentown Labs engineers. Also pictured is Sushmit Dutta '24 (pink sweatshirt) with his company (ALP) founder James Kong.

Also on Wednesday, Linder, Phelps, and students Ho, Sudhakar and Karen Hinh '23, hosted a Lunch and Learn for Greentown Labs engineers, presenting on sustainable design and more. 

Professor Ben Linder pictured teaching a Lunch and Learn at Greentown Labs.
Professor Ben Linder pictured teaching a Lunch and Learn at Greentown Labs.

Another highlight of the week was Professor Helen Donis-Keller's “Biomes and Climate Change” class visiting Greentown HQ for a tour and a meetup with company founders.

The lucky class is pictured below.

Professor Helen Donis-Keller (front row - left) poses with her “Biomes and Climate Change” class. Also pictured (back row) is Professor Ben Linder, Kristin Casasanto, Program Director for External Engagement and Sally Phelps, Director of Post-Graduate Planning.
Professor Helen Donis-Keller (front row - left) poses with her “Biomes and Climate Change” class. Also pictured (back row) is Professor Ben Linder, Kristin Casasanto, Program Director for External Engagement and Sally Phelps, Director of Post-Graduate Planning.

To close out the day's events on Wednesday, Olin alum Kevin Simon '12, Lead Mechanical Engineer at Alloy Enterprises Inc. and Babson alumnus John Quinn, spoke with the students about careers in sustainability.

"We’re so glad we could meet some members of the @OlinCollege community over lunch this week! Our new partner's faculty offered ways we can work with its students, while some of our members—Circe Bioscience, Tender Food, and Gaia AI—shared presentations." - @GreentownLabs

Special thanks to Jacqueline Johnson, Community Manager at Greentown Labs and her team for helping with the events.

Greentown Labs is a startup incubator specifically geared towards startups in the climate-tech space. As the largest incubator of its kind in North America, a huge breadth of startups have passed through its doors with technology addressing everything from energy storage of renewable energy sources to the breeding cycle of crops. Olin President Gilda A. Barabino is on Greentown's Board.

Olin College is also now a Megawatt partner to Greentown Labs