Riding the wind with Claire Lesnjak

A junior majoring in chemical engineering and a Madison native, Claire Lesnjak was raised by a single mother her entire life. Her mom is one of her biggest inspirations and they love to joke that every achievement is solely because she has a great mom, nothing else. Aced a test? It’s because of mom, and Lesnjak has certainly been up to a lot more lately! Learn more about Lesnjak, her involvement in the WiscWind team and her adventures abroad!

Why did you choose the University of Wisconsin-Madison?

I chose UW-Madison in part because it is a large research university but also because I love all the sporting events! Everyone on my mom’s side of the family attended UW-Madison so it felt right to keep the family tradition going!

Why did you choose chemical engineering?

I was really interested in the idea of converting raw materials into energy or products in a sustainable way. I thought that chemical engineering was a great field to get involved in, considering all the work being done in biofuels, hydrogen, recycling, and energy efficiency, to name a few. It was the best major that fit both my academic interests and my career goals. Plus, I think it would be really cool to be an engineer!

What’s been your favorite course?

My favorite course in CBE so far was CBE 310: Process Thermodynamics. I really loved learning about different power cycles and how power plants operate.

What have been the highlights of your chemical engineering education so far?

I really enjoyed CBE 250 and the introduction it gave to process engineering. It was great to learn about the ways that chemical engineers reduce waste in chemical processes in this class. I have also really liked the emphasis that the chemical engineering curriculum places on MATLAB and on computer programming in general, because the skills I am developing are so useful! Above all, I have enjoyed meeting other like-minded chemical engineering students in my classes and hearing about the awesome internships or research opportunities they are involved in.

What extracurricular activities or student orgs have you participated in at UW-Madison?

I am the project development team lead for WiscWind, which competes in the US Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). We develop detailed plans for a hypothetical wind farm as part of the project development competition, and we won the 2024 project development contest this past May.

Freshman year, I worked in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem sciences on research that assessed how ericoid mycorrhizal fungi can help cranberry plants absorb phosphorous. During my sophomore year, I worked as an undergraduate researcher in Professor George Huber’s lab on the Dairy Waste Utilization Project and I presented a poster at the Fall 2023 CBE undergraduate poster session. I also recently gained admittance to the Community Environmental Scholars Program through the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, so I’m really looking forward to starting that soon!

What made you decide to join the WiscWind team?

I joined WiscWind during my first week here at UW-Madison. I saw one of their mass emails and decided to take a leap of faith and join the team! I’ve always been interested in renewable energy and I was excited that there is a national competition for wind power. I think the fact that you get to compete with other universities in the CWC adds a fun element to student organization experience and was part of the reason I decided to join! Plus, the competition typically happens during the CLEANPOWER conference, which is a large renewable energy conference, and I knew this would be an amazing opportunity if I was able to attend.

Please share more about experience abroad. Why is it worthwhile? Do you have any favorite memories?

This summer I participated in the School for International Training (SIT) summer study abroad program in Iceland entitled Renewable Energy, Technology, and Resource Economics. In addition to learning about the technical aspects of renewable energy generation, most notably geothermal and hydro power, we got to learn about the unique regional, political and economic challenges facing Iceland. The program also consisted of an independent study project, and I conducted mine on improving geothermal power plant efficiency.

During this SIT program, we traveled all over Iceland from Reykjavík, to the Ring Road, to Akureyri and Ísafjörður in the remote Westfjords region. Study abroad allows you to discover a different part of yourself and to grow as a person by experiencing a new culture as I did. By participating in this program and immersing myself in Icelandic culture, I became more resilient and adaptable to change, and learned to find joy in every situation.

For example, my favorite memory from my study abroad experience was staying in a small, rural hostel in Möðrudalur, where there are families of Arctic Foxes living right nearby. I went for a run with two of my friends along the gravel road at around 8pm (the sun stays up nearly all night in Iceland) and you could see mountains looming in the distance. It started hailing and we were 2 miles away from any sign of life. We started sprinting back, but we were laughing so hard because we couldn’t believe it. Hail in summer! It was a really great moment because despite the storm and being far away from shelter, we could see the positive in the situation. We had just completed a difficult two weeks of classes at the University of Iceland and were now in beautiful, rural, Northern Iceland with our best friends!

What are your career plans?

I hope to work in the energy industry to help advance the renewable energy transition or improve energy efficiency, or anywhere else that I can make an impact and improve sustainability. My main goal for my career is to work on reducing environmental impact and combatting climate change, so however I get there doesn’t really matter as long as I get there!

What might you share with other incoming engineering students?

The most important piece of advice that I’ve learned is to be confident and advocate for yourself. It goes such a long way and will help you in job interviews, your classes, and networking with professors or industry professionals. This is such an important skill especially as a woman in engineering. Do not be afraid to ask for help and to go after what you want boldly and confidently!

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