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Newsmakers of the Week APRIL 04, 2025 | The Indian Eye 33

SOMYA VALECHA JIGAR H. SHAH

Undergrad honored Executive honored with 2025

with Distinguished Academic Alumni Award by UIUC

Achievement Award

he University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger College of En-
gineering has honored Jigar H. Shah with the 2025 Alumni Award for
TDistinguished Service. This honor is bestowed upon exceptional alumni
each year and awardees are recognized for professional distinction through
outstanding leadership, contributions to the field of engineering, creativity,
he College of Engineering at the University of Michigan has awarded and entrepreneurship; as well as service to society, the professional communi-
Somya Valecha, an undergraduate student in computer engineering, ty, and to the department, college, or university.
Twith the Distinguished Academic Achievement Award. Former Director of the Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of En-
In just her second year at the University of Michigan, Valecha has con- ergy Shah completed his BS, Mechanical Engineering, from University of Illi-
tributed to several groups as a leader, while appearing on the Dean’s Honor nois Urbana-Champaign in 1996. He went on to study MBA, at University of
List for her scholastic achievements. Maryland, College Park in 2001.
As the Professional Excellence Officer for the Society of Women Engi- Shah has been awarded for his tireless, career-long efforts to advance
neers (SWE), she organized a variety of professional development oppor- clean energy and his visionary leadership and innovation in the field of sus-
tunities for fellow students. These include an Interview Prep Workshop and tainable infrastructure.
networking events. She has also served as Hospitality Chair for the Fall En-
gineering Career Fair, where she worked to support both recruiters and stu- Jigar H. Shah is a serial entrepreneur, investor and energy strate-
dents, and she organized the Women In Leadership conference for students
across the University of Michigan. gist. From March 2021 to January 2025, Shah served as director
Valecha is a Sub-Lead of the Autonomous Software Team for M-Fly, of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of En-
where she contributed to training machine learning models for an autono-
mous plane. Her personal goal as a Sub-Lead is to support new members of ergy (DOE). He led and directed LPO’s loan authority to support
the team and foster a respectful and inclusive culture. deployment of innovative clean energy, advanced transportation
For the past year, she has also served as an Outreach member of Project
RISHI (Rural India Social & Health Improvement), a non-profit organiza- and Tribal energy projects in the United States.
tion whose mission is to promote the sustainable development and growth of
rural Indian communities. Prior to his work at the DOE, Shah was co-founder and president at Gen-
She will be participating in a SWE Congressional Outreach Trip in Wash- erate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decar-
ington, DC, from April 1–2. During the trip, she will be advocating for legisla- bonization solutions using low-cost infrastructure-as-a-service financing. Shah
tion aimed at ensuring women in STEM have equal opportunities. served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit
With another 1-2 years of coursework ahead of her, Valecha plans to con- founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs ad-
tinue her focus on leadership and service, “to bridge gaps and uplift others like dress climate change. He also founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered
me, and to lead with empathy, creativity, and a focus on long-term impact.” “pay as you save” solar financing.
After classes end, Valecha will be participating in SWEIndia in Walchand- In 2024, TIME named Shah to its 100 Most Influential People list.
nagar, India, where she hopes to inspire curiosity and confidence in STEM
fields. She has prepared for this trip by volunteering at Summer Engineering To read more about Indian diaspora and Global Indians, log on to and follow
Exploration Camp and at STEM nights for underserved schools in Detroit, our website www.TheIndianEYE.com
including Gompers Middle School.

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