2025 Cohort: Stanford Impact Founder (EcoSIF) Fellows

See the Stanford Impact Founder (SIF-Eco) Fellowship awardees for 2025.

Yashee Mathur

Yashee Mathur is a final-year Ph.D. candidate in Stanford’s Energy Science & Engineering department whose research develops subsurface modeling techniques to de-risk geologic hydrogen resources. After early industry work as a Petrophysicist at Cairn Oil & Gas and successive AI research internships at Shell, she has published multiple first-author papers on developing methods for natural hydrogen exploration and tecno-economic analysis. She aims to utilize her expertise in data-driven techniques and subsurface geoscience to convert natural hydrogen from a geological curiosity to an engineered reality- propelling a faster, fairer energy transition for everyone.

SIF-Eco Focus – Hydrify

Hydrify is building a transformative technology for geologic hydrogen exploration, combining AI/ML-driven methodology with geophysical and geological data to identify hydrogen-rich rock formations. Hydrogen is a key to the energy transition, but current methods are expensive, emitting high levels of CO2 and lacking scalability. Our solution reduces geologic hydrogen exploration costs by 3–5 times, improves success rates, and enables the production of low-carbon hydrogen at <$1/kg. By addressing the barriers to natural hydrogen scalability, Hydrify aims to accelerate the shift to affordable, clean energy, making a just and equitable energy transition possible for all.

Krish Mehta

Krish was determined to tackle climate change after witnessing its devastating impact on vulnerable communities in India. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, earning a degree in Business from Wharton and in Engineering. Krish then worked as an Engagement Manager within McKinsey’s sustainability practice and later at Tesla to manage the Model 3 P&L. At Stanford, Krish was a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, where he completed his MBA at the Graduate School of Business and Master’s from the Doerr School of Sustainability. Krish is an Activate Fellow and was listed under Forbes 30 Under 30.

SIF-Eco Focus – PHNX Materials

PHNX Materials reclaims coal ash from landfills, refines it to separate impurities and reinvents it into a cement substitute and critical metals like aluminum. This proprietary technology not only reduces CO₂ emissions from concrete but also cuts infrastructure costs by up to 15%, strengthens domestic supply chains, and revitalizes communities historically reliant on coal. Through its innovative approach, PHNX promotes environmental stewardship while promoting domestic production and bolstering national resilience.

Ryo Takanashi

Ryo Takanashi is a passionate professional with a dedicated career in food supply chain resilience. Before pursuing a joint MBA/MS degree at Stanford, Ryo served as the youngest Chief Corn Trader for Japan’s largest commercial importer, managing 20% of the country’s corn imports, stationed in Kansas and Minneapolis. In pursuit of a resilient food supply, he also started a Corporate Venture Capital team focused on lab-grown meat investments. His commitment to food supply chain resilience began from witnessing food insecurity firsthand while researching Detroit’s food deserts and Japanese coastal cities’ post-earthquake recovery as an Urban Engineering graduate student. At Stanford, Ryo co-founded Project Mizu, creating the world’s first comprehensive taxonomy of water-agriculture adaptation solutions, endorsed by industry leaders at IPCC and UN FAO.

SIF-Eco Focus – WaterOne / Mizu

WaterOne addresses one of the largest challenges to adapting to increasing weather volatility: agricultural water management. WaterOne is a farm water budgeting, accounting and crediting platform that empowers farmers to manage water as a currency, rather than an unlimited commodity. The platform uses simulations to help farmers project weather scenarios and evaluate crop water budgets, while simplifying accounting through AI-agents and mobile apps. By facilitating water credit trading between farmers, water managers, and industries, WaterOne creates new revenue streams for growers while building societal resilience. Through on-farm recharge facilitation, WaterOne unlocks underground reservoirs beneath farms, enabling growers to become a network of virtual reservoirs with 17 times the capacity of all dams in California combined.

Emily Tench

Emily, along with her cofounder Camila Sanchez, cofounded PermitPal to accelerate the deployment of clean energy infrastructure globally. Emily has always believed in the power of entrepreneurship to solve global problems. She started her first venture at Oxford: Pick-Me-Up Parcels, a social enterprise tackling mental health stigma. Since then, she has co-founded 2 climate startups and helped to launch Prochimad Foundation, a nonprofit building climate resilience in Madagascar. At Dalberg Advisors, she led projects across Africa and Asia to accelerate the green transition, helping Fortune 500 companies invest in nature and shaping impact investment strategies for major foundations. At Sustainable Ventures, she helped build Europe’s largest cleantech hub, working with climate startups to refine their business models and raise millions in funding. Emily holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Philosophy from Oxford University, an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

SIF-Eco Focus – PermitPal

Over half of large-scale clean infrastructure projects in the U.S. from solar and wind to battery storage and hydrogen face delays or cancellations due to local opposition. These setbacks cost developers millions in wasted permitting and site development.

PermitPal is an AI-powered platform that helps developers avoid these pitfalls. We scan public records, permitting documents and local news to flag early signs of community resistance and political risk before they become costly roadblocks. After a successful pilot with one of the nation’s largest renewable developers, we’re now scaling to support teams across the U.S. building the clean energy future.