Aaron (right) receives Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention Award from Mike Foster (Eli Lilly) at 2022 Purdue EEE Recognition Night

Aaron, who will graduate in May 2023 with a B.S. in Environmental and Ecological Engineering and a minor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, was selected for his commitment to climate change mitigation and promoting more sustainable industry practices.  

“I've always wanted to be a leader in climate change efforts,” says Aaron. “Knowing that I have the support of a group such as the Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention motivates me to continue educating myself to pursue these efforts. The only way to fix our current climate disaster is to understand the industrial practices contributing to it on a daily basis and what the alternatives are. As a mentor of mine once phrased it, I hope to one day be a leader of ‘doing better.’”

Aaron completed 4 terms of a co-op with Kimberly Clark as an electrical and process engineer and has conducted undergraduate research on renewable-energy powered desalination systems. Building on this work, he participated in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC) on a team led by Professor David Warsinger (ME).

Aaron’s team developed PRO-BRO, the first desalination system that uses both wave power and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) to power clean water production and generate electricity using common equipment already present in reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination plants. The system is able to switch between the two "modes" depending on electricity grid prices; it produces clean freshwater the majority of the time but can switch to producing supplemental energy during peak energy price times.

Why EEE?

“It feels more like a team of students working toward our degrees than a group of individuals, which creates a very welcoming and fun environment to learn,” says Aaron. “Everyone I've worked with in EEE, from the faculty to my peers, just wants to see everyone succeed. I can't wait to call myself an alumnus of this great program.”

After graduation, Aaron will start a full-time position at Strand Associates in Columbus, OH, where he will work on their water and wastewater team. 

Aaron is currently serving as a teaching assistant for professor John Mulrow and is active in SEEE. He enjoys watching sports, hiking, kayaking, and romantic comedies in his spare time.