How one student’s experience is helping to shape renewable energy education
Third-year mechanical engineering student Ngaatendwe Manyika spent the summer working with practice assistant professor at Penn Engineering Lorena Grundy developing a new class, the Renewable Energy Technologies Lab coming to Penn next fall.
In the midst of the complicated landscape of energy, economics, and environmental policy, third-year Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) student Ngaatendwe Manyika is helping to develop a new course for the next generation of engineers building renewable energy sources.
This summer, with the guidance of practice assistant professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Lorena Grundy and support from Penn’s Environmental Innovations Initiative (EII), Manyika built small wind turbines that generate clean power, documenting each step. Her work, facilitated by Penn Sustainability and funded through EII’s Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ISAC) program and Penn School of Engineering and Applied Science's Academic Innovation Fund, will serve as a pilot for Grundy’s upcoming course, Renewable Energy Technologies Lab, to be offered in Fall 2026. Read more about what's to come in Penn Today.