PMEC Alumi from left to right: Kelley Ruehl, Ben Strom, Moriel Arango, Ali Trueworthy, James Joslin.
We interviewed five PMEC alumni, from recent graduates to alum from the early years of PMEC, to learn what they are up to now, how PMEC influenced their career paths, and what advice they have for current students interested in careers in marine energy and related fields.
PMEC is actively reaching out to alumni to gauge interest in opportunities for connections and professional development. If you are a PMEC alum, we want to hear from you!
Ali Trueworthy, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Pacific Northwest National Lab
Graduation Year: 2024, Oregon State University
What do you do?
Community technical assistance for energy projects in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and research on approaches to community-based energy projects.
What’s something you love about working in this sector?
I love the connection between energy systems, people, and the land. When thinking about strategies for making change with a variety of people, organizations, and institutions, you have to consider the goals, values, histories and qualities that make specific places and communities what they are. It is rewarding to help people trace the lines between the things they care about and the actions that they can take.
How did your experience with PMEC influence your career trajectory? What were some highlights of your PMEC experience?
My experience with PMEC introduced me to the people that I continue to work with. I met my current mentor, Molly Grear with PNNL, at the virtual all-center meeting in 2020.
Getting to work in Sitka, AK through the ORISE fellowship was the highlight of my graduate school experience.
What skills and/or experience would you recommend people gain if they want to work in marine energy or related field?
I would recommend people practice catering their work to their audience. Not just by learning how they communicate their work, but also by learning how to adopt and adapt methodologies to fit the scenario they are faced with. Sometimes, as scientists and engineers, we get so caught up in modeling and precision, that we lose sight of the question that we are trying to answer.
Moriel Arango, MS
CEO & CTO
BladeRunner Energy, INc.
Graduation Year: 2011, university of Washington
What do you do?
I lead a small team of engineers at BladeRunner Energy that has a focus on developing hydrokinetic technologies. For the past several years the team has been developing a riverine hydrokinetic system for applications in remote river communities and more recently has started work on a tidal energy system.
What’s something you love about working in this sector?
I truly enjoy working on technology that offers both an engineering challenge and the potential to have a positive impact. A lot of general aspects around hydrokinetics and especially the stage at which BladeRunner Energy is, still offers a lot of room for R&D and the implementation of engineering principles with a strong coupling to creativity.
Working in this sector has also allowed me to do a lot of field work in very scenic and unique environments, where you get to see in action a piece of technology that you have been with from first design through manufacturing to deployment. That kind of experience brings with it a very deep feeling of gratitude.
How did your experience with PMEC influence your career trajectory? What were some highlights of your PMEC experience?
My current position and involvement with BladeRunner Energy is 100% due to my participation in PMEC. It was thanks to my advisor, Dr. Phil Malte, the former co-director of PMEC, that I met one of the original co-founders of BladeRunner Energy. After a number of years of staying in contact with them and thanks to the experience and knowledge on hydrokinetics that I gained through my involvement with PMEC, I was a good fit to join the BladeRunner Energy team when I did.
What skills and/or experience would you recommend people gain if they want to work in marine energy or related field?
The marine energy field certainly offers a very broad spectrum of areas to exercise engineering fundamentals, be it controls, numerical simulations, CAD, structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, etc., and there is a need for such engineers in the sector. The more unique skills and experience that will allow someone to flourish in this field are probably found more in the mindset of performing your work. It is a sector that is still trying to carve its place in the renewable energy world, with a lot of high stake demonstration projects, accelerated R&D, and a lot riding on the line. To do well in this kind of setting people have to be accountable for their work, have to be creative problem-solvers that can bring alternatives to the table when problems are identified, and have to be receptive to others and know how to work in a team. The 'books' definitely go out the window a lot of times when it becomes critical to solve real problems, many of which you have not encountered until you go out on the field and install/deploy a piece of technology. Having this set of skills will allow you to be at your best during these instances.
Ben Strom, PhD
CTO & cofounder, xflow energy
Graduation Year: 2018, university of washington
What do you do?
I lead research and development of vertical-axis wind turbines, and power conversion and control systems for wind and water turbines.
How did your experience with PMEC influence your career trajectory? What were some highlights of your PMEC experience?
We had an amazing community of students and PIs, who were a pleasure to work and recreate with. My community of friends today includes many former PMEC members.
What skills and/or experience would you recommend people gain if they want to work in marine energy or related field?
Folks with strong analytical and practical engineering capabilities are few and far between. If you have a chance to develop both, I highly recommend it! The academic environment often emphasizes analytical development, so learning things like design for manufacturing or electrical control systems may require some creativity.
James Joslin, PhD
CEO and Principal Engineer
Marinesitu
Graduation Year: 2015, university of washington
What do you do?
Our company develops and provides underwater monitoring technologies. As the CEO I lead our product and project design efforts as well as business development and financing. I am also the lead mechanical engineer on our team.
What’s something you love about working in this sector?
We get to work on interesting problems in exciting places and unique data and instrumentation challenges.
How did your experience with PMEC influence your career trajectory? What were some highlights of your PMEC experience?
Through PMEC I developed the background technology and network that allowed me to start MarineSitu and spin the company out of UW.
What skills and/or experience would you recommend people gain if they want to work in marine energy or related field?
Hands-on experience in the field is invaluable and working with PMEC allows for a lot of opportunities to get out and work with instruments and marine energy systems. I would strongly encourage everyone to take advantage of these as often as possible.
Kelley Ruehl, MS
R&D Mechanical engineer
sandia National Lab
Graduation Year: 2011, Oregon State University
What do you do?
I work at Sandia National Laboratories on marine energy. My projects include numerical modeling, open-source software development, and experimental testing R&D.
What’s something you love about working in this sector?
I love working on marine energy because I enjoy the impact of my work. My work is focused on developing a new source of reliable and renewable power generation, and also contributing to the development of innovative ocean energy technologies. The ocean has a vast, largely untapped, energy potential and the field is full of opportunity.
How did your experience with PMEC influence your career trajectory? What were some highlights of your PMEC experience?
I’m very lucky because I continue to collaborate with researchers and faculty at PMEC, at both OSU and UW. I have many long standing friendships and maintain collaborative research with several PMEC researchers and faculty. It’s truly a joy to maintain that connection with PMEC, both personally and professionally. Some highlights include wave tank testing at OSU Hinsdale, leading guest lectures for the Marine Energy course at OSU, and working with students who use WEC-Sim for their research.
My time at PMEC directly impacted my career trajectory: as a student I presented my work at the IEEE CITRES conference in Boston, where a researcher from Sandia offered me an internship that was directly related to my research. I accepted, and that internship led to my staff position at Sandia. I’ve been at Sandia ever since - 14 years now!
What skills and/or experience would you recommend people gain if they want to work in marine energy or related field?
Marine energy is truly an interdisciplinary field. My M.S. degree was in Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in Ocean Engineering. I took graduate level courses in dynamics from Mechanical Engineering and wave mechanics from Ocean Engineering. This interdisciplinary background is what enabled me to develop the skills necessary to work in marine energy, a field that involves moving parts in the ocean.
I strongly encourage people who want to work in marine energy to take classes and perform research in interdisciplinary fields.
I also encourage people to look for internship opportunities in the field. An internship is effectively a long-term two-way interview. It allows you to learn more about the company, and for them to learn about you. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my internship at Sandia.