What our alumni say about PEP…
"I have always been fascinated by innovative, disruptive technologies that are accessible and affordable. Once I started my journey in the PEP, I had the choice of taking courses that served my need to be a data analyst/product developer for the energy industry. I received many unique and real world learning experiences at CWRU such as the ThinkEnergy fellowship from the Great Lakes Energy Institute which gave me the chance to closely follow the recent innovations and policies in the global renewable energy industry and make connections with key stakeholders. Through PEP connections, I received an internship in a solar startup which led to a full time position after graduation. Overall, the PEP greatly assisted me in developing a concrete direction for my passion for research and development. I received mentorship and gained opportunities that allowed me to dive deeper into real world problem solving projects."
– Syeda Nur-E Saba, Research Associate, Roll-A-Rack Solar, PEP '21 | LinkedIn
"PEP gave me training in physics and business fundamentals and placed me in an internship at a company in the Cleveland area where I could apply my knowledge. This background became the foundation that I have built my career in the optics industry upon. Since graduating from the PEP I have worked in North America, Asia, and Europe and I have found the problem solving framework that I developed at Case to be universally applicable. It has allowed me to make an impact on projects at a technical level and communicate how technical results are relevant to different business cases. If you are interested in physics but don't want to take the traditional path through academia I would recommend considering the Physics Entrepreneurship Program at CWRU."
– Michael Morken, R&D Project Manager at Optics Balzers AG (Lichtenstein), PEP '17
“I moved to Cleveland in 2007 and found that Northeast Ohio has many fruitful high-tech small businesses, as well as many state and city-funded initiatives that are effectively supporting tech-based innovation. After a short internship, I became the third full time employee of Phycal. Although my official title was Business Development Associate, I have done fundraising, competitive intelligence, accounting, grant writing & tracking, hiring, market, technology, and competitive analysis, conference attendance, and supply chain management for our pilot plant in Hawaii. I know that MBAs were competing for my position, but my technical background gave me a leg up, especially during grant writing and communicating with non-technical people outside the company. Currently I’m CEO of my own startup, and have raised a significant amount of capital in less than one year.”
– Jeff Bargiel, Founder & CEO, EntoBio, Physics Entrepreneurship ’09
“I was able to cultivate my entrepreneurial spirit at Case, where I found a fast-learning, task and detail-oriented environment. With a solid scientific base influencing the approach to both instruction and scholarship, I was able to develop a set of skills that are broadly transferable. These skills, together with my ability to work with and through people, have translated into a broad range of capabilities within a wide array of applications. In particular, the aforementioned ability, coupled with a keen sense of organisation and a commitment to results were specifically developed through a close working relationship with Dr. Cyrus Taylor to whom I always will be eternally grateful. In all, it’s been a wild and exciting ride. I’ve spent significant time in the big cities, New York, Miami, London, but funny enough, I miss Cleveland the most. “
– Dwayne Cambridge, Founder & CEO, Enginuitty (Trinidad and Tobago), PEP ’02
“The personal connections I made through PEP, both internally and externally, are invaluable and would not have come about without the program; for example, I was able to have a wonderful, challenging grant-writing experience several years before many of my peers typically would. As a recent PhD graduate, I feel that I have a unique perspective- PEP provided a context in which I can understand the growing medical imaging community in Northeast Ohio, and more actively follow changes in the industry to which I aspire to be a part of. I believe the knowledge and experiences gained in PEP will have a profound impact on my career for years to come.”
– Lisa Bauer Felter, PhD, Consultant, Newry Corporation, Physics Entrepreneurship ’10
“PEP transformed my outlook on the business world, and my career. The program’s roots in quantitative/scientific analysis provided a strong competitive advantage to colleagues with a traditional MBA – it honed the skills I needed to pivot an engineering and entrepreneurship background into a successful internship with a VC fund and kick start a career in management consulting with McKinsey & Co. My professional network grew as a result of the close ties between the program and Cleveland’s robust business community; ‘real life’ projects made the coursework more relevant. I would strongly encourage anyone interested in a career in business to explore the intersection of science, innovation, and entrepreneurship at Case.”
– Solomon Alkhasov, Management Consultant at McKinsey & Co. (Cleveland and Tel Aviv) PEP ’14
“The PEP faculty and program structure prepared me to seek out and succeed in my current career path. I truly appreciated the independence that allowed me to study in my area of choice and to capitalize on the real world opportunities extended to me. “– Dan Blair, Analytics Lead at SunPower (Austin, TX), PEP ’11
“PEP gave me access to leading minds in both science and business through a mix of class work, projects directly related to my start-up company (NeoMed Technologies), and guest speakers with real-world experience. Not only did I receive MBA-level classes in Finance, Accounting, Marketing, and Technology Strategy, but also met Entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists, Professional Service Providers, and Institutional Leaders. I also had access to world-class medical researchers at University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic. Through the program, I also was connected with a mentor who gave sound advice and eventually joined the Board of Directors of my Start-up.”
– Marc Umeno, PhD, Senior Product Line Manager at VMware (Palo Alto, CA), PEP ’02