Poseidon Fellows

Poseidon Fellows aims to become UC San Diego's premier entrepreneurship fellowship for builders, dreamers, and founders across all levels of study — undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. Modeled after world-class programs like the Mayfield Fellows at Stanford, we believe the best founders aren't made in classrooms — they're forged through mentorship, community and real-world exposure.

Over the course of the program, Fellows receive access to founder mentors, investor office hours, a curated curriculum on company-building, and a tight-knit cohort of peers who share your drive to create something from nothing. Whether you have a company already or just a restless sense that something in the world needs to change — you belong here.

Note: Applications were due by March 22, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.

2025–26 Cohort

Sam Andre

Sam is an undergraduate studying mechanical engineering and the co-founder of SunBreak, an energy startup focused on power optimization for farms. SunBreak recently won first place in the 2026 Basement Pitch Competition. This summer, Sam is interning at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to contribute to projects driving the rapid decarbonization of Los Angeles's energy system.

Ricardo Silva Buarque

Ricardo is a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering, developing computational chemistry software to simplify materials characterization for clean-energy applications, including clean hydrogen production and battery recycling. He is also an entrepreneur bringing footvolley — a rapidly growing Brazilian beach sport — to the United States at scale.

Morgan Fitzgerald

Morgan is a computational neuroscience PhD candidate whose research focuses on cardiac signal processing and heart-brain dynamics, with an interest in translational applications to medtech and digital health.

Parth Jha

Parth, who is working towards a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, has deployed emergency energy systems in typhoon-hit villages in the Philippines. This ambitious graduate student is currently building an edtech startup that powers an “AI co-pilot” for K-12 teachers.

Ethan Kam

Ethan, an undergraduate working on a business economics and data science double major, previously founded a nonprofit in high school that procured thousands of donated shoes for local homeless shelters. Having completed the program, Ethan is now exploring new ideas and avenues for innovation.

Kiruthika Marikumaran

Kiruthika, who is working on her master's degree in electrical and computer engineering, is a serial hackathon winner, having competed in nearly 10 hackathons in the past year alone and won three of them. She has built AI products spanning healthcare, biotech, wearables, education and consumer technology. She was also selected for Y Combinator Startup School 2026 and has her eye on founding a student entrepreneurship organization at UC San Diego.

Valmik Nahata

Valmik is a data science undergraduate investigating reasoning in clinical Large Language Models (LLMs) at Massachusetts General Hospital. He previously founded a nonprofit matching thousands of students to research labs, developed Natural Language Processing (NLP) pipelines for pathology reports at Dartmouth Health, and will soon research AI alignment at MIT, convinced interpretability and safety define AI's future.

Vincent Pavan

Vincent is a graduate student working toward a master’s in bioengineering who is deeply focused on biosensor research, and currently exploring his passion for technologies that improve human health.

Bhagya Ram

Bhagya recently graduated with a BS in data science and is exploring how AI can improve the systems people rely on every day. She recently worked with the City of Carlsbad to develop the backend zoning intelligence framework powering a property selection platform designed to help thousands of small businesses cut through red tape.

Oviya Senthil

Oviya is an undergraduate student majoring in computer engineering, and serves as an organizer for San Diego's largest regional hackathon DiamondHacks. She is also particularly interested in building safety critical systems at the intersection of robotics, healthcare and aerospace.

Magnus Wolff

Magnus is an undergraduate student majoring in structural engineering and exploring opportunities in maritime defense tech.

Fernando Zepeda

Fernando is a mechanical engineering major who proudly founded and sold one of California's top-rated auto detailing businesses when he was only in high school. Now, Fernando is looking to hard tech as the next frontier of innovation for him.