MSL alumna Laurelle Banta (MSL ’18) (second from right in above picture) came to the MSL program after graduating from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, where she studied mechanical engineering, with a focus on materials and thermodynamics. Laurelle was interested in learning more about intellectual property and how to protect the ideas she was coming up with in the lab; she now says that “everything I learned in the MSL program has popped up while working with [NUMiX] and I’ve used everything I have learned. My [MSL] degree has been extremely useful and I loved getting it.”

During her time in the program, Laurelle enrolled in the NUvention Energy class, an interdisciplinary offering that brings together students from different programs across campus to create a product or service and develop a business plan in the cleantech or sustainability area.  Laurelle and her classmates created a process that removes heavy metals from contaminated water, and formed a company called NUMiX Materials.  Laurelle is now the Chief Operating Office of NUMiX, which has won a variety of awards and competitions since its formation in 2018.  Recently, NUMiX Materials received the U.S. Bank Cleantech Inclusion Award, a prestigious award recognizing female and minority entrepreneurs who are building innovative companies that benefit the environment, create jobs, and drive economic development. To read more about this latest victory for NUMiX Materials, check out this article:  Water purification startup NUMiX Materials wins inaugural U.S. Bank Cleantech Inclusion Award

To learn more about Laurelle’s experience in the MSL Program, check out the following video: