Texas A&M student earns energy-focused fellowship
Selected as a Texas Exchange for Energy & Climate Entrepreneurship (TEX-E) fellow, Edwin Ochedikwu will explore the evolving global energy landscape.
Edwin Ochedikwu poses with TEX-E executive director Sandy Guitar (left) and partnerships director Dr. Yolanda Norman.
Chemical engineering graduate student Edwin Ochedikwu has been selected as a 2026–27 Texas Exchange for Energy & Climate Entrepreneurship (TEX-E) fellow.
Ochedikwu was accepted into the fellowship on April 14 and gained a deeper understanding of how it bridges entrepreneurship and renewable energy.
“I learned that we will most likely be given technology to develop over the course of the year,” Ochedikwu said. “There will be collaboration with industry leaders and entrepreneurs in the climate-tech and renewable energy space, as well. We will primarily work in project teams with other students and researchers from partner universities in Texas.”
Partnering universities include the University of Texas at Austin, Prairie View A&M University, the University of Houston, Rice University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.
Ochedikwu’s initial research focused on wastewater modeling of an electrocoagulation process for wastewater treatment. He developed a MATLAB-based model, which is a mathematical or graphical representation of a physical system for optimized pollutant removal.
Building on this, his next project will explore using amine-based polymers for petroleum industry applications.
The goal is to use modeling and experiments to better understand how gases like carbon dioxide interact with polymers, he said.
As an undergraduate, Ochedikwu decided to minor in economics to build a structured foundation for understanding micro and macro economic interactions, such as how consumers and firms make decisions under different economic circumstances.
“I told myself that I wouldn’t let an opportunity pass where I could find a way to incorporate chemical engineering and economics into my life or future,” Ochedikwu said. “In my current work, there isn’t necessarily a direct path to incorporate both, but there is a general theme in both my projects, which is sustainability. That goes in line with what I will be trying to achieve long term.”
Combining chemical engineering and entrepreneurship gives Ochedikwu a foot in the door to begin sharing thoughts and ideas with like-minded people within the engineering industry.
“I am thrilled that Edwin has this unique experience to broaden his professional development,” said Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and chemical engineering professor. “The TEX-E Fellowship will give him direct insight into entrepreneurship and greater agility in his future career path. I am hopeful that his experiences in the program will bring this know-how into our research ecosystem, breaking down barriers to translation from lab to market.”
