{"id":251299,"date":"2026-08-19T07:31:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T11:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=251299"},"modified":"2026-08-18T10:33:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T14:33:59","slug":"nasa-scholarship-launches-uconn-engineers-path-to-sustainable-energy-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/08\/nasa-scholarship-launches-uconn-engineers-path-to-sustainable-energy-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Scholarship Launches UConn Engineer\u2019s Path to Sustainable Energy Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Evan Piotrowski first stood inside the Millstone Nuclear Power Station and saw the reactor vessel that had powered his home for years, he gained more than a behind-the-scenes look at one of the nation\u2019s largest clean energy sources. He found a career path.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now a rising senior in the UConn Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department, Piotrowski has been awarded the NASA CT Space Grant Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes his academic excellence, undergraduate research, and commitment to developing engineering solutions for some of society\u2019s most pressing energy and sustainability challenges.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A member of the UConn Honors Program, Piotrowski is pursuing minors in both materials science and mathematics while conducting research in assistant professor Burcu Beykal\u2019s laboratory. His long-term goal is to work at the intersection of nuclear energy and process systems engineering, developing advanced reactor technologies that could one day power missions\u00a0beyond Earth.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Evan Piotrowski (ENG ’27) working in a lab. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe work I am currently doing and the work I desire in the future\u00a0have\u00a0strong applications in the advancement of space technology,\u201d says Piotrowski. \u201cMy goal is to become an engineer who advances both the nuclear power and space technology frontiers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That vision extends well beyond the classroom.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In\u00a0assistant professor Burcu\u00a0Beykal\u2019s research group, Piotrowski\u00a0has explored sustainable energy technologies through projects focused on atmospheric water harvesting and geothermal power systems. Last spring, he received UConn\u2019s Environmental & Social Sustainability Grant for his work investigating how atmospheric water harvesting can be integrated with\u00a0geothermal\u00a0energy\u00a0to create more sustainable water production systems.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of the project, Piotrowski used Aspen Plus process simulation software to model and analyze the systems and developed a Python-based automation tool to streamline complex simulations.\u00a0The\u00a0tool is designed to make simulation automation easier and more accessible to other researchers and students.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvan is an exceptionally bright and motivated student,\u00a0and\u00a0it has been a pleasure to have\u00a0him, as part of my research group,\u201d says\u00a0Beykal. \u201cHis accomplishments reflect not only his strong technical skills, but also his curiosity and drive to take on meaningful\u00a0engineering\u00a0challenges.\u00a0I look forward to seeing Evan continue to be an ambassador for the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u00a0<\/span>and UConn Engineering for years to come<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With support\u00a0from the NASA CT Space Grant Scholarship, Piotrowski plans to devote even more time to\u00a0research\u00a0in\u00a0Beykal\u2019s\u00a0lab during his senior year. He hopes to build on his current work by pursuing new projects centered on power and energy systems, an area of research that\u00a0Beykal\u00a0is also interested in.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe broader goal is to produce research that supports communities facing limited access to clean drinking water while promoting carbon-free energy solutions,\u201d Piotrowski says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Piotrowski\u2019s\u00a0previous\u00a0engineering experience\u00a0includes internships at Millstone Nuclear Power Station and Rand-Whitney Containerboard, where he gained firsthand experience applying engineering principles in industrial settings. Together with his research experience, those opportunities have helped shape his\u00a0interest in tackling technically demanding engineering challenges with real-world impact.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Evan Piotrowski (ENG ’27) outside of a power plant in Cape Cod. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He is currently\u00a0an intern at MPR Associates Inc., an engineering consulting firm that\u00a0focuses on the nuclear and power sectors.\u00a0There, he\u00a0has worked on a variety of\u00a0engineering\u00a0projects\u00a0supporting operating nuclear power plants, helping navigate the technical and regulatory challenges involved in plant modifications and long-term system improvements.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Piotrowski has also had the opportunity to work\u00a0on some small modular reactor (SMR) projects while at MPR Associates Inc.\u00a0These projects connect directly with Nasa\u2019s lunar surface power initiatives.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside the lab, Piotrowski is co-founder and vice president of UConn\u2019s Human-Powered Submarine Club. In that role, he oversees the technical progress of approximately 15 students across four engineering teams\u00a0as they design and build a human-powered submarine for the International Submarine Race in 2027. He credits the experience with strengthening both his leadership skills and his appreciation for collaborative engineering.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Receiving the NASA CT Space Grant will allow Piotrowski to devote more time to\u00a0undergraduate\u00a0research\u00a0during his senior year,\u00a0expanding on\u00a0the work he has already done in\u00a0in\u00a0Beykal\u2019s\u00a0lab,\u00a0while\u00a0exploring new projects in advanced power systems. Coupled with his research experience and recent internship in the nuclear power industry, the scholarship positions him to pursue a career developing the next generation of energy technologies\u00a0for applications on Earth, and\u00a0possibly beyond.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chemical engineering student Evan Piotrowski has been awarded the NASA CT Space Grant in recognition of his academic excellence and undergraduate research<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":251301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2429,1866,156,2076,2707,2712,2235,2458],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2646],"class_list":["post-251299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards-scholarships","category-engr","category-profile","category-research","category-space","category-student-success","category-today-homepage","category-undergraduates"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-26 11:48:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251299"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251757,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251299\/revisions\/251757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/251301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251299"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=251299"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=251299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}