UCSD - University of California - San Diego

07/02/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/02/2026 13:13

Poseidon Fellows Celebrates its First Cohort of Student Innovators

Published Date

July 02, 2026

Article Content

Twelve UC San Diego students recently completed the inaugural cohort of Poseidon Fellows, a new entrepreneurship fellowship designed to help aspiring founders, operators and investors explore the world of entrepreneurship and startups.

Drawing its name from the university's triton identity, Poseidon Fellows focuses on company building, venture capital and leadership through in-depth lectures, discussions and question-and-answer sessions. It emphasizes developing exceptional individuals rather than focusing on specific startup ideas. The fellowship is co-led by Elizabeth Lyons, associate professor in the School of Global Policy and Strategy and director of the Wavemaker Lab at UC San Diego and Shawn Xu '12, partner at Lowercarbon Capital.

"We have been very intentional about learning from programs we admire," Lyons said. "But rather than copying what they do, we've focused on adapting and experimenting with what works for students at UC San Diego. We wanted to build a program that reflects the university's interdisciplinary strengths and gives students exposure to people and ideas beyond the San Diego ecosystem."

As a UC San Diego alumnus, Xu wanted to ensure students at his own alma mater had access to the same caliber of network and mentorship he encountered later in his career. Xu brought firsthand experience with one of those programs. Having helped teach the Mayfield Fellows Program at Stanford alongside some of the top venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, he saw an opportunity to adapt that model to expand entrepreneurial opportunities for UC San Diego students and help more young innovators turn ambition into action.

"Some of the most consequential companies of the next decade will be built by people who aren't old enough to rent a car," said Xu. "My colleagues and I have backed multiple founders under the age of 21 who built billion-dollar companies out of their dorm rooms- most recently the student-led startup Cursor and its $60 billion acquisition by SpaceX. I'm committed to making sure the next one will come from UC San Diego, and the Poseidon Fellows program exists to get them there faster."

Bringing that vision to life required more than classroom instruction. For Xu, the fellowship reflected an opportunity to bring elements of proven models for early-stage talent development to his alma mater. It also required a place where founders could connect with the larger ecosystem.

The fellowship grew from conversations between Xu and Shane Moise, managing director of Horizon, about how to create more opportunities for students to engage directly with experienced entrepreneurs and investors. Moise connected Xu with Lyons, and together they went on to develop the fellowship's concept and curriculum. They hosted all five sessions at the Entrepreneurship Center through Horizon in the Design and Innovation Building.

"This is exactly the kind of connection Horizon was created to support," Moise said. "When talented students, faculty, founders and investors come together in the same space, new opportunities emerge for everyone involved."

Featured speakers included successful entrepreneurs and investors actively building companies and shaping emerging industries. Among them were DJ Patil, former U.S. chief data scientist and co-founder of multiple venture-backed companies, and Dwight Crow, a serial AI entrepreneur and product leader who has founded and exited three companies. Through conversations with ecosystem leaders, fellows explored topics ranging from venture-backed innovation and public-sector problem solving to the opportunities and challenges created by generative AI and edge computing.

"As a founder and CEO two decades removed from undergrad, I was blown away by the Poseidon Fellows," said Jimmy Douglas, founder and CEO of Plug, who was a cohort guest speaker. "They are very uniquely positioned to enter the venture and startup environment with an understanding of what separates fast growing companies, and a peer group that will compound that knowledge with firsthand experience outside the classroom."

For Bhagya Ram, an inaugural fellow, those interactions were among the program's most valuable experiences.

"Poseidon taught me that the defining trait of great founders is ownership," Ram said. "Meeting people who chose to take responsibility for hard problems gave me confidence that being technical, mission-driven and entrepreneurial aren't competing identities, but complementary ones. I left feeling more certain that I want to help build systems that matter."

The Inaugural Cohort

The inaugural cohort included undergraduate, master's and doctoral students representing disciplines across engineering, data science, business, bioengineering and computational neuroscience. Fellows pursued interests ranging from climate technology and healthcare innovation to civic technology, education and artificial intelligence.

Sam Andre

Sam is an undergraduate studying mechanical engineering and the co-founder of SunBreak, an energy startup focused on power optimization for farms. SunBreak recently won first place in the 2026 Basement Pitch Competition. This summer, Sam is interning at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to contribute to projects driving the rapid decarbonization of Los Angeles's energy system.

Ricardo Silva Buarque

Ricardo is a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering, developing computational chemistry software to simplify materials characterization for clean-energy applications, including clean hydrogen production and battery recycling. He is also an entrepreneur bringing footvolley - a rapidly growing Brazilian beach sport - to the United States at scale.

Morgan Fitzgerald

Morgan is a computational neuroscience PhD candidate whose research focuses on cardiac signal processing and heart-brain dynamics, with an interest in translational applications to medtech and digital health.

Parth Jha

Parth, who is working towards a master's degree in mechanical engineering, has deployed emergency energy systems in typhoon-hit villages in the Philippines. This ambitious graduate student is currently building an edtech startup that powers an "AI co-pilot" for K-12 teachers.

Ethan Kam

Ethan, an undergraduate working on a business economics and data science double major, previously founded a nonprofit in high school that procured thousands of donated shoes for local homeless shelters. Having completed the program, Ethan is now exploring new ideas and avenues for innovation.

Kiruthika Marikumaran

Kiruthika, who is working on her master's degree in electrical and computer engineering, is a serial hackathon winner, having competed in nearly 10 hackathons in the past year alone and won three of them. She has built AI products spanning healthcare, biotech, wearables, education and consumer technology. She was also selected for Y Combinator Startup School 2026 and has her eye on founding a student entrepreneurship organization at UC San Diego.

Valmik Nahata

Valmik is a data science undergraduate investigating reasoning in clinical Large Language Models (LLMs) at Massachusetts General Hospital. He previously founded a nonprofit matching thousands of students to research labs, developed Natural Language Processing (NLP) pipelines for pathology reports at Dartmouth Health, and will soon research AI alignment at MIT, convinced interpretability and safety define AI's future.

Vincent Pavan

Vincent is a graduate student working toward a master's in bioengineering who is deeply focused on biosensor research, and currently exploring his passion for technologies that improve human health.

Bhagya Ram

Bhagya recently graduated with a BS in data science and is exploring how AI can improve the systems people rely on every day. She recently worked with the City of Carlsbad to develop the backend zoning intelligence framework powering a property selection platform designed to help thousands of small businesses cut through red tape.

Oviya Senthil

Oviya is an undergraduate student majoring in computer engineering, and serves as an organizer for San Diego's largest regional hackathon DiamondHacks. She is also particularly interested in building safety critical systems at the intersection of robotics, healthcare and aerospace.

Magnus Wolff

Magnus is an undergraduate student majoring in structural engineering and exploring opportunities in maritime defense tech.

Fernando Zepeda

Fernando is a mechanical engineering major who proudly founded and sold one of California's top-rated auto detailing businesses when he was only in high school. Now, Fernando is looking to hard tech as the next frontier of innovation for him.

"Poseidon Fellows was the most impactful thing I did at UC San Diego," said Zepeda. "It served as a mirror that reflected back the greatness I didn't know I was capable of, through an inner tribe unlike anything I found on campus. I walked away knowing I am capable of everything and bound by nothing."

For fellow participant Oviya Senthil, the program inspired a similar sense of confidence and possibility.

"The Poseidon Fellows program has been an incredible experience," said Senthil. "It taught me that being a founder starts with taking a chance on yourself. It showed me that believing in myself - and realizing the only obstacle in my way was me - was the first step because every great idea begins with someone willing to bet on themselves."

As the inaugural cohort concludes, program leaders see Poseidon Fellows as an investment not only in individual students, but in future generations of innovators emerging from UC San Diego.

"What excites me most is not what happened during the fellowship, but what comes next," said Paul Roben, associate vice chancellor for innovation and commercialization. "The students in this inaugural cohort represent an incredible range of talent, curiosity and ambition, and Poseidon Fellows is one more way UC San Diego can help them turn those qualities into our next great innovation."

Interested partners are encouraged to reach out to Program Contacts Liz Lyons and Shawn Xu.

Learn more about all the innovation resources, events, and opportunities at UC San Diego.

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