The people behind the turbine

Our Team

NC State's Collegiate Wind Competition team - students from every major, building real wind energy systems across three specialized teams.

Leadership

Officers

The officers running the team day to day, and our faculty advisor.

Gabriel Cruz

Gabriel Cruz Director

Engineering Director
Sam Gray

Sam Gray Director

Vice President
Dr. Darius Carter

Dr. Darius Carter

Faculty Advisor

Mechanical Team

Designs, builds, and tests the physical systems that power our turbine. Tends to be MAE or MSE majors.

Taylor Downes

Taylor Downes Lead

Mechanical Team Lead
Mack Harrington

Mack Harrington Head

Aero & Blade Head
Eduardo Velarde

Eduardo Velarde Head

Structure Head
Russell Lapham

Russell Lapham Head

Pitch Head
Cole Bauman

Cole Bauman

Member
Jake Allen

Jake Allen

Structure
Julian McLoughlin

Julian McLoughlin

Aero & Blade

Electrical Team

When the blades spin, they turn a generator, but the power coming out of it is rough and changes with every gust. The Electrical team builds the circuits that turn it into steady, usable electricity, programs the small computer that adjusts the blades and stops the turbine safely when something goes wrong, and wires up the sensors that show how much power we are making. Tends to be ECE or CS majors.

John (Pio) Pezzi

John (Pio) Pezzi Co-Lead

Electrical Co-Lead
Shadi Hajiabbaszadeh

Shadi Hajiabbaszadeh Co-Lead

Electrical Co-Lead
Chaudhry Khan

Chaudhry Khan Head

Power & Generator Head
Marcel Plante

Marcel Plante Head

Controls Head
Anirudh (Ani) Arunprasad

Anirudh (Ani) Arunprasad

Power & Generator
Caden Alderman

Caden Alderman

Power & Generator
Carlos (Isaac) Vasquez-Mora

Carlos (Isaac) Vasquez-Mora

Power & Generator
Dylan Thunell

Dylan Thunell

Power & Generator
Elena Egovova

Elena Egovova

Controls
Logan Justice

Logan Justice

Power & Generator

Project Development Team

Plans a real wind farm from the ground up: where to build it, how much wind the site gets, permitting, connecting to the grid, and what it costs. Our team doesn't come from any majors in particular.

Sam Gray

Sam Gray Director

Project Director
Ethan Plowcha

Ethan Plowcha Head

Site Design Head

Website & Outreach

Keeps the website running and tells the team's story on social media and at outreach events.

Team structure

Officer Board

Luke Caffarey, President. Faculty advisor: Dr. Darius Carter.

Engineering

Gabriel Cruz, Director

Mechanical Lead Taylor Downes

Electrical Co-Leads John (Pio) Pezzi, Shadi Hajiabbaszadeh

Project Development

Sam Gray, Director

  • Site Assessment & Resource
  • Environmental & Permitting
  • Grid Interconnection
  • Supply Chain & Logistics

Want your face up here?

We're always recruiting across all three teams - no experience required. Come build something real with us.

Not pictured yet?

Get added to the team page

Submit your name, role, and a photo through this quick form and we'll get you added.