“While I was earning my chemical engineering degree in India, I always looked through the lens of sustainability; asking, how do we make this industrial process more sustainable so that there are no effluents?” begins Shrey Mehta (MES ’25). While many of his classmates entered traditional careers in the oil and gas industries, Shrey chose to forge a path toward a career in sustainable and equitable energy solutions. Eager to learn about energy sustainability, policy, and access, Shrey applied to Penn’s Master of Environmental Studies program.
Making energy clean and accessible has been a long-time goal for Shrey. “Since I was a kid, I had an interest in sustainability and a very good relationship with nature,” he shares, crediting his grandparents. His family history also helped him draw connections between the environment and social justice. “Historically, my grandparents had been subjected to a lot of energy injustice,” he says. “India got its independence in 1947. Before that, they lived under British colonial rule. In my grandmom's village, they used to switch off electricity whenever they wanted to prevent people from congregating or rebelling,” he explains. “She literally studied under candlelight. So, energy injustice is a very personal issue for me.”
After completing his bachelor’s, Shrey spent a year working on an electricity grid decarbonization project for the Indian state of Karnataka, where 70% of their energy comes from coal. The job offered practical experience that would help target his academic and professional goals. When he was ready to return to school, Shrey was eager to study in the US to learn about energy policy and markets that have global influence. He chose the Penn MES because of its top-ranked sustainability program, the flexibility of its curriculum, and the caliber of Penn faculty.
As part of his preparation for his time at Penn, Shrey reached out to several MES alumni. One alumna advised him on adapting to campus and seeking extracurricular opportunities. “I implemented all of that advice and made the most of my Penn experience,” he says.
One recommendation was to not overload himself with courses at the start and instead take time to get to know the subject matter and the campus. He started off the program in fall 2023 by taking three course units. “The first semester was about building the strong fundamentals that would help propel me forward,” he says. His courses included Thinking with Models: Business Analytics for Energy and Sustainability, a class offered through the Wharton School of Business. “That course gave me a very good overview of the energy market in the United States,” he says. “I also took the MES Proseminar, which helped me with the basics that were needed to understand contemporary issues of climate change.” In Leading Change for Sustainability, instructor Kim Quick helped Shrey and his classmates become stronger leaders through empathy. “The course helped me double down on my goals of being a strong sustainability leader,” Shrey adds.
Another valuable piece of advice was to get involved. “I wanted to completely get immersed in the campus experience,” he says. In his two years studying at Penn, Shrey sat on the student council board of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, was a member of the Wharton Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative Student Leadership Advisory Board and the Wharton Energy Club, and co-chaired the Climate Leaders at Penn.
Shrey alsosought out fellowships and grants, often finding opportunities through e-newsletters and mailing lists he’d joined. An individual grant from GAPSA (the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly) allowed Shrey to attend the energy industry conference CERAWeek in Houston, TX. As a Kleinman Birol Fellow, he worked at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris one summer, conducting heatwave and electrical grids research. The work earned him authorship credit on the resulting report, which was featured in Reuters and Bloomberg magazines.
A Perry World House and Penn Global Climate Policy Fellowship brought him to Washington, DC, to meet energy policy makers. “I actually spoke to someone from the current administration,” Shrey shares. “We had a lot of differing views on energy policy, but one thing that I really learned at Penn is that it's fine if you disagree with someone; if you can put your point forward in such a way that doesn't disrespect the other person, you can try to convince them to also see your perspective. I think that's where all the most productive conversations take place.”
At his May 2025 graduation, Shrey was honored by the department with the 2025 Award for Excellence in Environmental Studies in recognition of his contributions to the field of environmental studies as well as to the MES program and community.
Today, Shrey is a project engineer at a clean energy technology company. He is currently focused on optimizing advanced long-duration storage technologies to reduce emissions in the food distribution industry. “I'm directly translating what I learned at Penn to something that makes an impact,” he shares about his work. “My MES capstone project was on integrating long-duration storage in the New England energy grid to decarbonize the entire grid; all of what I learned I'm actually able to apply to this project, which will help a community that has faced air pollution and environmental injustice.”
Long-term, Shrey will continue to progress in a career dedicated to clean energy and fair and affordable energy access. One day, he hopes to return to India to help with the carbon transition and address climate impacts in the region.
For prospective MES students ready to forge their path at Penn, Shrey has his own advice to offer. Referencing lessons from a favorite book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Shrey says we should all work to elevate others when we can. “The strength of Penn is not only its Ivy League status, but its community. To new students, I would say use your time in such a way that helps you become a part of the community and also helps uplift others.”
And while navigating all the options at Penn can be a challenge, Shrey promises the outcomes are worth the investment. “Grab every opportunity you can,” he says. “Go into the program with an opportunity mindset, and then you will thrive.”
