Ajay is a member of the M&T Class of ‘29 (SEAS + Wharton), majoring in Electrical Engineering and Legal Studies with a Master’s in Robotics from GRASP Lab (though that’s all subject to change). He has dual passions in both engineering—hopefully in the decarbonization/carbon capture space or in high variability robotics—and foreign policy, and hopes long-term to bring technical expertise into policymaking, crisis management, and foreign intelligence. In the short term, though, he wants to be at the forefront of innovation in sustainable energy infrastructure, ensuring we’re on a sustainable path toward new energy sources.
Though his combination of majors is somewhat unorthodox, he sees the intersection of engineering and policy as crucial to having an impact in a world entering a unique point in its history. His projects back home in San Antonio, TX, often required him to be competent not only in the technical details but also to be able to understand the broader context that surrounded them. Not only that, but he realized he couldn’t choose: he loved both diving deep into 4-axis multimaterial 3D printing at the GRASP Lab and authoring papers on subjects like Eastern European refugee policy and Mongolian corruption law. Here at Penn, he is pursuing those interests further, taking coursework in both energy and ethics.
Outside of academics, he’s involved in multiple clubs on campus. One he particularly enjoys is Penn Raas, the university’s premier garba/raas dance team, where he’s the Finance Chair. He loves languages and travelling (most recent destination was Mongolia), speaking Marathi, Hindi, and French with varying levels of fluency.
Ajay was fascinated by the idea of the dialogue community the SNF Paideia Fellowship provides; given the inherent lack of critical discussion in most engineering classes, he felt that the fellowship would fill that missing piece. He is excited to be in this rich community and ready to see where it takes him—and where he can take it.