Entrepreneurship

I originally planned to pursue a entrepreneurship minor to complete this experience requirement. During my junior year, I took the Intro to Entrepreneurship course where I learned about the Idea and Innovation Challenge. 

I entered and won first place in the competition for the technology track in Fall 2023 where I proposed a University Weather Drone Program. Through my experience in the atmospheric research field, there was an issue of sustainability and pollution in the process of gathering weather data. All the national weather service stations across the US launch at least 2 weather balloons daily. There are a 122 offices across the US, and not including universities that also launch their personal balloons for research. Each balloon carries a radiosonde which just flies around until popping. The balloon and electronics pollute and harm the environment and wildlife. 

For the Idea Challenge, I proposed a business model of an incubator to begin this transition from balloons to drones. I proposed that a first step is creating a regional university weather drone program partnering with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric) research department and the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency). The weather drone program would cater to local universities in the DMV with atmospheric and aviation science departments. I started working on the project in September and ended in November. I committed at least 1 hour per week in its development and research stage. Overall, I would say I spent 20 hours working on this project and presentation.

While the program did not take off, it became a personal project of mine. I continued researching and attending conferences to learn and network within the field. I met the Meteomatics employee that gave me the quote for a meteo drone for my presentation. While at the AMS conference I was also able to learn about the developments in sustainable weather balloons.

I think that my entrepreneurship experience with weather drones and balloons is strongly tied in engineering the tools of scientific discovery and improving sustainability. I'm trying to optimize the process of collecting weather data by decreasing the pollution from the traditional methods. The competition and course was part of the approved experiences and caught my research professor's attention. I was able to participate in an NCAR leadership workshop to learn more about the intersections of atmospheric science and how to take initiative of pursuing my goals. Overall, I had an amazing time exploring entrepreneurial avenues of the sciences. This experience gave me confidence in presenting my ideas to create change.

This experience contributes to the realistic vision because my project was suggesting alternative methods for data collection. I made a business plan and got a professional quote from the company Meteomatics. While the drone program didn't come to fruition, my research professor took note and sent me to leadership workshops and conferences to further refine my ideas. I’m currently working on setting up a partnership with a manufacturer I met at my recent conference to switch out our balloons to a biodegradable and environmentally friendly material. Change in scientific methods especially on a national scale is very slow due to constraints such as money and staff resources. My alternative approach is to try at least making a change locally with Howard University's Beltsville Weather Station site and have our weather balloons be biodegradeable.

a. Develop strategies for recognizing opportunities and identifying the tools for quality risk assessment. 

The Intro to Entrepreneurship class ENTR 200 focused on the analysis of current business and leadership strategies. The professor helped me refine my pitch before the competition.

b. Exhibit skills for communicating ideas in a concise and logical way.

Participation in the Idea Challenge required efficient communication to pitch my project in under two minutes.

c. Work effectively in teams focused on entrepreneurship-related projects.

The ENTR 200 semester project was working in a group to launch a hypothetical business and create weekly presentations to give updates of our proposed business model for a hand sanitizer company.

d. Apply entrepreneurial thinking to social issues and social problems.

 Proposed a more environmentally friendly way to collect atmospheric data through a proof of concept design of a university weather drone program in the Idea Challenge.