麻豆影院

A CU 麻豆影院 engineer aims to revolutionize local transportation in India. She's 23.聽

If you鈥檝e been to a big city in India or China, you鈥檝e probably ridden in a motorized rickshaw. They鈥檙e the low-cost, three-wheeled taxis commuters use for short trips 鈥� that last mile or two from the train station to home or from home to the store 鈥� and a key piece of the urban transportation network.

But rickshaws are also a massive source of pollution, as Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan (EngrPhys, MApPhys鈥�16) noticed during visits to see relatives in Chennai.

鈥淓very year we go back, the pollution gets worse and worse,鈥� said the recent CU 麻豆影院 graduate, whose family moved to Superior, Colo., from India in 1993.

Most of India鈥檚 motorized rickshaws, and there are millions of them, are older models equipped with simple two stroke engines 鈥� notorious polluters. They contribute up to 40 percent of vehicle pollution in India鈥檚 largest cities, according to Gopalakrishnan, 23.

In 2014 she decided to do something about it. Then a sophomore in the College of Engineering & Applied Science, she founded a company to design and develop a hybrid conversion kit for rickshaws that would benefit the environment and rickshaw drivers alike.

鈥淚f all of India鈥檚 auto rickshaws are equipped with one of our kits, we estimate it鈥檚 the equivalent of taking one聽million cars off the road,鈥� she said.

The company, Surya Conversions (Surya means 鈥渟un鈥� in Sanskrit), is a start-up to be sure. The firm is still perfecting its prototype and hasn鈥檛 brought its product to market yet. Stateside, the prototype has been tested on one rickshaw, a poppy red, four-stroke import that narrowly met U.S. air pollution control standards.

But things are going well: Surya raised $30,000 through grants, competitions and a Kickstarter campaign, and won the 2014 CU 麻豆影院 New Venture Challenge鈥檚 Social Impact Competition, claiming a $3,000 prize. A year later, it won the 麻豆影院 Chamber鈥檚 2015 Esprit Venture Challenge and a check for $10,000.

All this 鈥� plus a lot of time, energy and brainpower from more than a dozen of Gopalakrishnan鈥檚 fellow CU students 鈥� led to the 35-pound prototype she took to Chennai for a series of field tests this fall. Data collected there about fuel consumption, emissions and other performance data will inform improvements.

Preliminary tests indicate Surya鈥檚 kit could cut fuel costs by $600 a year 鈥� equal to the conversion kit鈥檚 anticipated $600 price tag, Gopalakrishnan said. That means fuel savings could pay for the kit in a year鈥檚 time.

This is important, because drivers don鈥檛 earn much 鈥� annual take-home pay is roughly $1,800, she said, 鈥渂arely enough to support a family,鈥� nevermind invest in a new all-electric, electronic or compressed natural gas-powered rickshaw, which typically cost several thousand dollars.

With the Indian government pressuring rickshaw drivers to switch to cleaner models, Surya鈥檚 conversion kit could become an affordable alternative.

During those family trips to Chennai, Gopalakrishnan would watch the colorful parade of open-air rickshaws weave through the city鈥檚 streets.

At CU, her growing knowledge of physics led her to realize the kinetic energy produced by rickshaws鈥� constant braking in stop-and-go traffic could be harnessed to generate electricity. Existing hybrid vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius and the Ford Fusion Hybrid, use regenerative braking to recharge their batteries 鈥� why not harness the same technology to convert a gasoline-powered rickshaw into a hybrid?

Working with other students, including lead engineer Irfan Nadiadi (MMechEngr鈥�17), Gopalakrishnan developed an easy-to-attach hybrid conversion prototype that could be installed without聽modifying the vehicle itself.

When a rickshaw鈥檚 brakes are applied, the device traps energy that would otherwise dissipate as heat and stores it in the kit鈥檚 battery. Power is then transferred to the engine, allowing the vehicle to operate primarily in electric mode when it鈥檚 idling or traveling at lower speeds. This results in fewer fill-ups and less total emissions, she said.

A place to start: Earth's second-most populous country."聽

Gopalakrishnan, Surya鈥檚 chief executive officer; Kimberlee Ott (EnvEngr鈥�15; MCivEngr鈥�17), chief operations officer; Sam Winston (Acct鈥�15), business operations and now also with GitHub; and Nadiadi eagerly await the results of the field tests in India.

If the prototype cuts emissions sufficiently 鈥� the goal is 25 percent or more 鈥� Gopalakrishnan will try to raise $400,000 and begin producing the kits.

It could be just the start of something much bigger, she said: 鈥淎nother 35 countries use auto rickshaws. We鈥檇 like to bring the kit to the rest of the world.鈥�

That鈥檚 potentially a huge business coup, and something perhaps more satisfying, too.

鈥淚 got interested in engineering as away to help people,鈥� said Gopalakrishnan, who is also a trained ballet dancer. 鈥淚 saw engineering as a way that I could transform an idea into a meaningful and useful product.鈥�

George Deriso, an experienced technology entrepreneur and advisor for CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 Deming Center for Entrepreneurship who has advised the Surya team, believes the rickshaw hybrid conversion kit is just the beginning for Gopalakrishnan.

鈥淚 believed her invention was one of great importance, in that it could potentially improve the lives of millions in those countries that use auto-rickshaw vehicles,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s I got more acquainted with her, I came to realize that Maithreyi herself is the real potential.鈥澛�

Photo courtesy聽Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan聽