EcoRAMP Position - [WTR-Mauter-1]
Applications are open until the due date: 9:00 AM PST December 1, 2025 for Winter Quarter
The Ecopreneurial Research for Accelerating Market Pathways (EcoRAMP) program offers an experiential learning opportunity for Stanford undergraduates to work with a research team on an active Sustainability Accelerator project. Throughout the engagement, the student will learn about both the development of sustainable solutions and the approaches for their externalization for real-world impact. At the end of the quarter, the student will deliver a short presentation highlighting their key learnings. This program is funded by Stanford Ecopreneurship and the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator.
Project Tagline: Building Decision Support for Decarbonized, Affordable Water Supply
Primary Mentor(s): Prof. Meagan Mauter, Stanford University
Co-Mentors: Erin Musabandesu, Postdoc, CEE Department; Akshay Rao, Ph.D. Candidate, CEE Department
Project Overview:
This project will identify a high-level strategy for commercializing the energy management decision support tools that the Water Energy Efficiency for the Environment (WE3) lab has developed for water utilities. Reducing the energy, carbon, and cost intensity of water utilities while preserving reliability will require a combination of infrastructure upgrades, operational modifications, and behavioral interventions. WE3 Lab has developed tools that enable water utilities to value, assess, and deploy energy demand flexibility to reduce costs and emissions and maintain a safe, reliable water supply. However, these tools have primarily been used in an academic setting for limited case studies. Further scoping and development are needed to translate this research at scale.
The EcoRAMP Student Will Do:
The student will help our team develop our stakeholder engagement plan, conduct stakeholder and customer discovery interviews, and perform market research. The final project deliverable will be a Preliminary Technology Transfer Plan that will include results from the interviews and the market assessment. Tasks include:
- Work with our team to develop a survey questionnaire that identifies potential user needs, opportunities, and barriers.
- Assist in conducting interviews with water utilities and consultants for both customer discovery and market research.
- Help prepare a comprehensive market assessment to understand the landscape, risks, and viability of our energy decision support tools.
- Perform exploratory data analysis on water utilities using publicly available datasets, focusing on utilities in California and across the United States.
- Create visuals and reports to communicate findings to the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator and external stakeholders.
The EcoRAMP Student Will Learn:
- Refine skills in stakeholder engagement, customer discovery, and market research.
- Learn about municipal water systems, energy markets, and technology development.
- Participate in the early research technology externalization process.
- Develop research and data analysis skills.
Qualifications/Skills Required:
- Interest in sustainability, startups, or technology policy.
- Experience or coursework in public policy, business, economics, civil and environmental engineering, or environmental science.
- Ability to conduct interviews, surveys, customer discovery, or market analysis.
- Basic knowledge of the water utility sector or energy management is a plus.
- Ability to work independently under faculty guidance and attention to detail.
Time Commitment and Compensation:
- By participating in EcoRAMP, you commit 10 hours per week per quarter. We are looking for anticipated engagement across multiple quarters through Spring 2026.
- The student will receive a $2,000 stipend per quarter. Please note: stipends, prizes, or awards to students who are receiving other forms of financial aid for any purpose are a form of financial assistance and may require adjustment to your scholarship eligibility and /or adjustment to your overall cost of attendance. The Financial Aid Office has the responsibility to determine if these funds can be applied to meet your Student Responsibility and if other adjustments are necessary. Please contact the Financial Aid office before applying to ensure you are fully informed before making any decisions about your experiential learning opportunity.
Eligibility:
- Stanford Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors are eligible for this position. Note: co-terms who are in their first 4 years or 12 quarters of attendance and have not conferred their undergraduate degree are considered undergraduate students and are eligible for this position.