As our team leader, Soren’s most impressive accomplishment is his ability to capture the larger picture while still managing all the moving parts. He balances meeting partners and consulting advisors with engaging team members and strategic planning. He has brought us together as a team and directs us daily to the ultimate cause we all find so meaningful and worthwhile. Soren is a scientist and entrepreneur with a strong background in engineering and physics, and a passion for energy and the environment. Soren completed his doctoral research at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at University of Wisconsin, Madison in just over 4 years. Soren is an active member of the MIT entrepreneurial and energy community, and served on the 2009 MIT Clean Energy Prize Organizing Team as the Mentorship Chair. He is also a Fellow in the 2009 TiE Leadership Program and a member of the MIT Energy Club. As the CEO of SolSolution, he is responsible for the formation, development, and operation of the organization.

Answers from Soren

Q: What is it that you do at SolSolution?
Soren: My role is to do anything and everything I can for us to fulfill our mission. I founded SolSolution, and I’m currently the CEO.

Q: What was your favorite subject in high school?
Soren: I did really like math and physics. Probably physics…other than being slightly nerdy, I enjoy math a lot. I enjoy the stimulation of working with equations and calculating things. And I like physics because it connects mathematics to the real world.

Q: Was there a particular teacher or a class that was really like a turning point for you?
Soren: No turning point for me necessarily. Even when I was younger, I grew up working with my grandfather. He did engineering and construction, and I would tend to take a lot of things apart around the house, like my toys  and various things like that. So I like to figure out how things work. I wasn’t the best at putting things back together, unfortunately, but from a very early age I was kind of into engineering.

Q: What do you like to do for fun?
Soren: I love surfing. I love music. I love playing guitar, singing, making music. I’m horrible at art, and my penmanship is bad. I can’t draw circles, I can’t draw straight lines. But the creative part of me really loves music. I love a lot of different stuff. I was involved in martial arts a little bit when I was younger. Recently, I’ve been getting into training for triathlons. Weekend triathlons.
And I really do love SolSolution and all the technical stuff I do. It’s more of a hobby than work. My goal is to everyday of my life do exactly what I want to do and love it. And so far I’ve been able to do that.

Q: What is your favorite food?
Soren: There’s two things in this world that I love. One is chicken tikka masala from India Palace in Union Square in Somerville, MA. The other is chocolate.
Q: Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate?
Soren: All of the above. Well, except white chocolate unless necessary.