Closer Look
Aaron West
Age: 22
Education: Working toward Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering along with a minor in Applied Mathematics, OIT
Company: Power Plant
What the company does: the goal is to harness agricultural waste to produce renewable electricity at a commercial scale.
Founded: 2020
Accelerators, incubators or competitions: Second place for Power Plant's Project Biomass Gas, Catalyze Klamath
Outside funding: $7,250 in competition winnings, $10,000 from Grit Passion Science farms.
Q&A
Why did you decide to build this startup at this time? Going into our senior year of mechanical engineering, (my partner) Darby Twight and I were in search of a senior capstone project. We could foresee that COVID would impact the progress of other established senior capstone projects. The senior project set the groundwork needed to grow our technology and compete in the startup accelerators.
Do you ever feel like you are missing out on anything because you are following this path at such a young age? I dream of space, a place where cutting-edge science is conducted 254 miles above the earth’s surface. It is incredible to think that there are people up there right now going about their business while zipping along at 4.76 miles per second! While the odds of becoming an astronaut remain extremely low, it fills me with excitement to think that I still have a chance. This chance will continue to diminish if I continue to pursue my business ventures rather than settling into a career-based life.
Have felt any specific challenges around your work because you are still so young and early in your career? Finding the correct question to ask is the single most challenging part of what I do. To combat this I have developed some tactics. The first is a classic, fail often. We are programmed to remember our failures more than our successes.This allows us to reflect and learn at a much higher rate. The first 4 tests of our Biomass Gasifier ended with explosions. No one was hurt, but each time we were granted a new list of questions to ask and problems to solve. The second has to do with taking advantage of resources. When we talk to each other we can access huge amounts of experience extremely quickly. Asking for help is one of the single most helpful things you can do. Imagine that!
What are you most excited about for your future? When it comes to my career I hope to catch the wave to a more sustainable future. I am very excited to see how the world is going to change in my lifetime. The past 100 years have brought heaps of advancement to mankind, It is my generation’s choice to either embrace change and allow it to blossom or resist it and backtrack. We are in a tenuous time where folks are becoming more divided at alarming rates. It is important now more than ever to be patient with one another and forgive how we behave in times of great stress.
