Duke’s First Climate and Sustainability Make-A-Thon

Winners of the 2026 Make-A-Thon, photo by Courtney Lucius

The Duke Energy and Climate Club is Duke’s oldest and largest undergraduate energy and climate-focused organization. The club’s mission is to educate members on the challenges within clean energy and climate tech, as well as provide opportunities to support students developing careers in the sustainability field. 

This year, the club demonstrated both goals in practice by hosting Duke University’s first-ever “Climate and Sustainability Make-a-thon.” The Duke Energy and Climate Club drew inspiration from neighboring North Carolina State University’s previous faculty-led Make-A-Thon event. When planning Duke’s Make-A-Thon, student leaders leveraged the advice of N.C. State faculty organizers to make this first Duke event a success. 

Over the course of the Make-A-Thon weekend, Duke students came together in teams to build prototype solutions for pressing climate, energy, and sustainability challenges, contending for more than $5,000 worth of cash prizes to further their ventures. The weekend saw students come together from interdisciplinary backgrounds, connected by an interest in environmental impact and developing solutions for real-life sustainability problems at Duke University and the local Durham area. 

After a kickoff address from the Make-A-Thon founder, Sadie Radice (Trinity ‘27), and Duke Energy and Climate Club co-president, Tyler Ratcliffe (Trinity ‘26), student teams reflected on real sustainability problems that they could impact, shared initial ideas, and strategized for the weekend ahead. The competition event was out to both undergraduate and graduate Duke students from all backgrounds and experience levels. Some of the teams were meeting for the first time, brought together by the competition, while other teams had connected with each other through programs in the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. 

Make-A-Thon teams met up in maker spaces across campus to develop their prototype. Throughout the event, competing teams were well supported by faculty mentors who were on hand to offer their guidance and expertise on the range of sustainability ventures that students were exploring. 

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“In their orientation packets, student teams were provided a contact list with a variety of Duke mentors, including faculty, alums, and community experts, who specialize in many different disciplines,” noted Radice. “Our goal for providing these mentors was to give students access to fields that they might not have experience in, so they could seek guidance on their projects.”

On the final day of the competition, students pitched their ventures to a panel of judges, including Duke faculty, alumni, and community experts in the sustainable energy and entrepreneurship space. Through teams’ presentations, it was clear that the students were motivated by a diverse range of sustainability pain points, from material over-consumption on Duke’s campus to food waste, and resource equity in Durham. 

The first-place prize was secured by the Campus Pulse Team-Amirta Josna (Pratt ’27), Gokul Krishnan (Pratt ’27), and Benita Majo (Pratt ’27). The Campus Pulse prototype used existing data like schedules, occupancy, and building systems to allow site managers to reduce energy usage in unused spaces and avoid waste. Make-A-Thon honorable mentions included the DukeReuse 360 team, who developed a plan to reduce student food waste via a reward system for reducing food excess. 

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Throughout the competition, students and faculty explored the potential of innovation with intentionality. The student-teams faced sustainability problems head-on, exploring how their academic studies and passions could solve environmental issues starting close to home through interdisciplinary collaboration. “I’m incredibly grateful to have had students, faculty, and industry professionals bring such enthusiasm to Duke’s first student-led Make-A-Thon,” emphasised Radice.

To learn more about the Duke Energy & Climate Club and future Make-A-Thon events visit: www.dukeenergyandclimateclub.com.