Fall 2023 Team

Aidan Aalund

Co-President

Hello! I hope you learned a thing or two on our website! I’m excited to be working with Sofia and the rest of the project on building an even larger NET community this year! For a little bit about me, I started off in the project in the DAC team. I’m a sophomore Electrical Engineering major; I love live music, weightlifting, and my dog!

Email: aidan.aalund@utexas.edu

Sofia Leal Cavazos

Co-President

Hey there! I’m Sofia, ArchE Junior and Co-Prez of the shindig. In my spare time you’ll find me making a batch of bagels, vibing with the rocks and bugs of Shoal Creek, or perfecting my Yacht Rock playlist. Glad you’re here! #NothingButNETs 

Email: sofia.leal@utexas.edu

Kaylan Tchamdjou

Internal Coordinator

Hello? Is this thing on? My name’s Kaylan. I’m a junior Computer Science major and Internal Coordinator of the NET Project. I’m usually doing my own thing; feel free to reach out anytime!

Email: kaytchj@utexas.edu

Charles Cole

DAC Project Lead

Hey everyone! I am a sophomore petroleum engineering student and am so excited to be co-leading the DAC team with Thomas. Some things I like to include drumming, weight lifting, and playing games with friends. I hope we can all work together to elevate our carbon capture system to the next level this year.

Email: chascole9976@gmail.com

Thomas Brigham

DAC Project Lead

Heya! My name is Tommy, and I am going to be a sophomore petroleum engineer pursuing a minor in sustainability this next year. I will be the co-head of the DAC (Direct Air Capture) team with Chas. Some of my hobbies are Dungeons & Dragons, running, video games, music, and chess (though I am pretty bad at it haha). I joined the NET Org my freshman year as I am extremely passionate about the importance of the work that is done by this org. Sustainability and keeping this planet as healthy as possible with the growing energy demand requires Negative Emissions Technology to be part of the solution, especially with the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. This technology is an important part of our future and one that I hope to contribute to. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, want to get involved the DAC team. or just want to discuss NET as a whole!

Email: tdb2959@my.utexas.edu

Melanie Hsieh

Policy Project Lead

Hello hello! I’m a third year biophysics student. I like to read all sorts of books, hike and ask questions. I joined NET mainly to learn more about carbon capture utiilization and storage (CCUS), and understand how different companies are tackling climate change whether through technology or policy realm. This gave me the inspiration to lead a startup team to accelerate the world toward carbon neutrality!

Email: melanie.hsieh@my.utexas.edu

Paige Cartwright

Policy Project Lead

Junior Chemical Engineering Honors Student

Email: paigecartwright9@gmail.com

Daniel Vo

Recruitment and Outreach

Hey y’all! I’m Daniel. I’m a sophomore environmental engineering major looking to learn more about energy, carbon capture, and environmental restoration, hence why I joined the NET project. I’m excited to find and recruit more passionate members this year so that we can all put our brilliant minds together and expand the field of carbon capture. Besides NET, feel free to talk to me about anything related to music, plants, or upcycling. I’m looking forward to meeting you all!

Email: danielvo1019@utexas.edu

Wei Gao

Recruitment and Outreach

Hey there! My name is Wei, and I’m a sophomore chemical engineering student with a technical focus on material and energy engineering. In my free time, I like to play video games with my friends and read fantasy books that take you to a whole other world. I chose to continue being a part of the NET Project as it taught me how holistic and thorough we need to be in order for us to achieve our climate goals. The welcoming and energizing community within this organization has only furthered my loyalty to the organization and its goal. We are still a growing community, so I’ll gladly take any feedback for improvements or changes you think will help our organization. See you there!

Email: hookemweigao@utexas.edu

Mia Thiessen

Social Media and Marketing Coordinator

I’m a third-year Sustainability Studies major and a minor in Leadership in Global Sustainability. I really enjoy learning about and making art, exploring all kinds of nature, lifting in the gym, going to concerts, and watching movies. The NET Project allows me to learn, grow, and become more involved in the topics of environmentalism, so I want to help do the same for all UT students that are interested!

Email: miathiessen@utexas.edu

Saureesh Aparasu

Social Chair

What up longhorns, I am Saureesh! I am currently a junior studying economics and finance. Outside of crunching numbers and looking at graphs. I enjoy exploring the wonders of the world when I am not broke, watching the madness nfl games, and spilling jokes with friends.

Email: saureeshaparasu@utexas.edu