Program prepares undergraduates to become embodied carbon leaders
The Carbon Leadership Forum has recently launched an internship program designed to introduce students early in their educational careers to the fundamentals of life cycle assessment and to promote understanding of how addressing embodied carbon is essential to solving the carbon challenge. The three interns selected for the first year of the program are Delilah Canales, Clare (Vivi) Kondrat, and Prajin Uttamchandani.
The Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) is an organization within the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington that works on reducing the carbon emissions associated with building materials and construction processes (embodied carbon).
“All of our interns were University of Washington undergraduate selected through a rigorous and competitive process,” said CLF Managing Director Anthony Hickling. “We were looking for curious students who were eager to apply principles of sustainability and social justice in their work. The idea of the internship is to provide a basic grounding in Life Cycle Assessment data and practices, and connect the students with a network of embodied carbon professionals to explore how they might pursue this work later in their careers.”
Hickling emphasized that the CLF received significant support from the Bullitt Foundation to pay and mentor the interns. The students will collaborate on a group project that relates to one of CLF’s existing workstreams, with mentorship from CLF researchers. CLF staff will connect the students to relevant resources and contacts, and guide them through the steps of managing and completing the project.
Finally, the interns will develop a final report and/or project poster, and will present their work to CLF and other venues at UW, including the University’s spring’s Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Welcome, Delilah, Vivi, and Prajin!
Delilah Canales
Delilah is currently a junior at the University of Washington pursuing a degree in Architecture. Her interest in the Carbon Leadership Forum stems from her motivation to create better living spaces for those experiencing housing insecurity, while tackling social and environmental issues in the built environment.
Delilah Canales
Clare (Vivi) Kondrat
Clare is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in engineering at the University of Washington, with the intention of exploring the intersectionality between environment, society, and the built environment. Her work with the CLF complements her goals of bringing humanity to address social justice issues and working to help both local and global communities.
Clare (Vivi) Kondrat
Prajin Uttamchandani
Prajin is a student at the University of Washington currently seeking a degree in Architecture, with a focus on sustainability. Past research and environmental restoration projects encourage an ongoing commitment to climate justice through continued academic experiences and work with the CLF. Prajin’s beliefs are centered around taking racial and economic disparities into account when working towards carbon reduction and broader climate action.
Prajin Uttamchandani
English 
French 
German 
Italian 
Spanish (Chile) 
Spanish (Mexico) 
Spanish (Spain)