ACEP student among top finalists at national competition

Two people standing side-by-side to pose for a photo with a banner saying ARPA-E in front of them. — Photo courtesy of Kaarle Strailey/ACEP
Kaarle Strailey, right, was one of the top six finalists at the ARPA-E PITCHES competition. He stands with his peer mentor Sam Heath, a Ph.D. student at MIT, who helped Strailey develop his pitch over several weeks leading up to the competition.

May 19, 2026
By Yuri Bult-Ito

Kaarle Strailey, a Ph.D. student at the �Ļ�ӰԺ and working with Tom Marsik and Daisy Huang at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, was selected as one of six finalists in the highly competitive PITCHES competition, short for Proposing Ideas for Technologies that Can Harness Energy Securely. Strailey delivered an invited presentation at the in San Diego in April.

PITCHES, open exclusively to graduate students, challenges participants to present potentially disruptive energy-related technologies — technologies with renewable energy sources, advanced battery storage and innovations like ocean thermal energy conversion — to an audience and a panel of industry judges.

Strailey’s pitch focused on active vacuum insulation, a new type of high-performance building insulation where a large section of fiberglass core materials is cut to size on-site, wrapped in an air-tight membrane and attached to a low-cost vacuum system. The vacuum system creates and maintains an optimal level of vacuum indefinitely. Unlike conventional vacuum insulation panels, this design is customizable, durable and repairable, offering superior thermal performance with less cost.

Delivering a concise and convincing presentation with enough details in under five minutes proved both challenging and rewarding.

“I enjoyed the challenge and appreciated that it took me out of my introverted comfort zone,” he said. “It was a great opportunity to develop not only my technical skills but also my ability to communicate and market scientific ideas effectively.”

Preparation for the summit involved rigorous mentoring. After being named a top six finalist, Strailey worked closely with a peer mentor and an ARPA-E fellow, receiving thoughtful feedback that strengthened his presentation.

“Both mentors were incredibly helpful, offering suggestions that really improved my presentation's visuals, content and delivery,” he noted.

For Strailey, the summit itself was an eye-opening experience.

“It provided an exclusive view of the current state and trajectory of energy innovation, which will help position active vacuum insulation strategically for our project team and guide my own future work,” he said.

The ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, held periodically since 2010, is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s.