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MIT graduate spearheads sustainable vehicle development

Mehrotra's passion for design also thrived through his involvement with MIT D-Lab.

Adi Mehrotra / Image - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Adi Mehrotra, a mechanical engineering master's degree candidate in his second year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is devoted to two initiatives: the advancement of mechanical engineering education at the institute and the development of clean energy vehicles.

In the realm of vehicle design, he leads the MIT Electric Vehicle Team, a student-led research group focused on exploring the future of transportation through the creation of a hydrogen-powered motorcycle. 

Simultaneously, for his master's thesis research, Mehrotra is also working on establishing a novel mechatronics curriculum, which integrates mechanical and electrical engineering into an interdisciplinary course. 

In his initial four years at MIT, Mehrotra played a crucial role in the Solar Electric Vehicle Team (SEVT) and eventually guided the team to a triumphant performance in a five-day, 900-mile race. Subsequently, he applied the expertise he acquired from SEVT during a summer internship in Ghana with the startup Moving Health. 

In this role, he contributed to the development of low-cost ambulances designed to transport patients from remote villages to medical facilities, all while reducing reliance on gasoline. 

During his time as a high school student in East Brunswick, New Jersey, Mehrotra's enthusiasm for building and creating flourished. He recalls, “I built a lot of my own projects, in the basement, mostly relying on wood or metal.” 

Additionally, he played a role in co-founding the FIRST Robotics team chapter at his school. Mehrotra's passion for design also thrived through his involvement with MIT D-Lab, an initiative dedicated to designing solutions for use in the developing world. 

“There are a lot of classes at MIT that have taught me a lot of things, of course. However, in D-Lab, I walked in with one assumption about good ways to make the world a better place and they kind of flipped that on its head. [D-Lab] approaches problem-solving from this local perspective that if you can help one person very well, that is a bigger success than helping 100 people poorly,” he said. 

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