From Business at Leeds 2022 | Full issue

New first-year students and their families enjoy the weather outside the Rustandy Building at the fall 2022 Leeds Launch.

When the Rustandy Building opened its doors in 2021, we knew that the fusion of the engineering and business schools would ignite exceptional opportunities for students. One year later, we wanted to see what that looked like. Like a fly on the wall, we watched as stories unfolded and futures took flight. Here are a few that caught our eye.    

From Business at Leeds 2022 | Full issue

Camila Uzcategui, left, and Johnny Hergert make adjustments to a laser in their east campus lab as they work on a 3D-printed dental aligner. The PhD graduates co-founded Vitro3D, which 3D prints implants and aligners, below, that could soon be rapidly created in a dentist's office. 

When the Rustandy Building opened its doors in 2021, we knew that the fusion of the engineering and business schools would ignite exceptional opportunities for students. One year later, we wanted to see what that looked like. Here are a few stories that caught our eye.

When Camila Uzcategui (MMatSci'18; PhD'21) pitched an industry-changing idea for dentistry at CU's New Venture Challenge Finals, the engineering student said "it was the most rewarding experience of my PhD." 

She and Johnny Hergert (MMatSci'18; PhD'21) founded Vitro3D in their New Venture Launch class, taught by Leeds professor Jeff York, where business and engineering students turn innovative technologies into viable businesses; the unique class was made possible through a gift from the Robert and Kathleen Dobbin Intuitive Foundation. For Vitro3D, the founders benefited from the business acumen of teammate Jennifer Howard (MBA'22). 

The company, which is grounded in Uzcategui and Hergert's research in materials science, plans to bring 3D printers directly to dental offices to produce retainers, aligners and mouthguard quickly and inexpensively. Last spring, the team won second place at NVC, with a cash prize of $33,500.

Next, Vitro3D intends to use volumetric 3D printing that mimics the materials inside the human body to help with life-saving medical procedures. 

More creative collaborations: Taylor Bata | Doha Shahba | Julie Gentile | Diego Alvarez

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From Business at Leeds 2022 | Full issue

Diego Alvarez stands in lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center. He took advantage of Leeds resources to further his passion for quantitative finance.

When the Rustandy Building opened its doors in 2021, we knew that the fusion of the engineering and business schools would ignite exceptional opportunities for students. One year later, we wanted to see what that looked like. Here are a few stories that caught our eye.

Diego Alvarez (Math, Econ’22) didn’t major in business or engineering­—but he works in both areas now. Back in fifth grade, his fascination with quantum physics evolved into a lifelong passion for quantitative finance—a mix of business and science. 

While at CU Boulder, he used what he learned from elective math courses at the College of Engineering and Applied Science in his work at the Bloomberg Lab and Leeds’ Burridge Center for Finance. There, he joined the Leeds Investment Trading Group and started CU Quants, a group for quantitative people interested in finance. 

Now living in New York City, he’s found an ideal balance between the disciplines as a data scientist at a hedge fund.

“Almost everything I learned in the Stochastic Finance course at the engineering school, I use in my work today,” he said.

More creative collaborations: Vitro3D | Taylor Bata | Doha Shahba | Julie Gentile

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From Business at Leeds 2022 | Full issue

Julie Gentile (EnvEngr'24) rests beside a creek on a hiking trail. 'There needs to be collaboration with business' to limit the impact of industrialization on the environment, she says.

When the Rustandy Building opened its doors in 2021, we knew that the fusion of the engineering and business schools would ignite exceptional opportunities for students. One year later, we wanted to see what that looked like. Here are a few stories that caught our eye.

Julie Gentile, an environmental engineering student with a focus on energy, is committed to helping solve climate change. 

She was among the women chosen for the BE Women in Tech program, made up of 25 business and 25 engineering students. It provides tech training, leadership development, mentorship and an empowering community for future female leaders.

In the program, she learned that leaders who specialize in one discipline, but are knowledgeable in another, are vital to the success of any company looking to bring forth something new. 

“I plan to develop products and systems that reverse or lessen the negative effects our industrial society has on the environment—but there needs to be collaboration with business for success,” she said.

More creative collaborations: Vitro3D | Taylor Bata | Doha Shahba | Diego Alvarez

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From Business at Leeds 2022 | Full issue

Doha Shahba, center, runs a meeting with her peers. She's majoring in business, but is also studying engineering to become 'a powerhouse of problem-solving capability.'

When the Rustandy Building opened its doors in 2021, we knew that the fusion of the engineering and business schools would ignite exceptional opportunities for students. One year later, we wanted to see what that looked like. Here are a few stories that caught our eye.

Engineering and business need each other, said Doha Shahba (Bus’24), a student in the BE Women in Tech scholars program. Though she’s a business major, she’s quick to point out that engineering is a common undergraduate degree among CEOs—it makes her eager to add those skills to her toolbox.

Someday, she hopes to help build a better society through entrepreneurial solutions based on technology. In the meantime, she wants to build a skillset in finance, accounting and data analytics that she can use to solve important problems in the future.

“Combining a business mindset with the inherent creativity of engineering creates a powerhouse of problem-solving capability,” Shahba said.

More creative collaborations: Vitro3D | Taylor Bata | Julie Gentile | Diego Alvarez

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From Business at Leeds 2022 | Full issue

Taylor Bata at a satellite field. She hopes business skills, combined with her aerospace engineering studies, help her become a more strategic professional.

When the Rustandy Building opened its doors in 2021, we knew that the fusion of the engineering and business schools would ignite exceptional opportunities for students. One year later, we wanted to see what that looked like. Here are a few stories that caught our eye.

Taylor Bata (AeroEngr’24) recently became interested in satellites with sensors that can be used for imaging. As an aerospace engineering student currently pursuing a business minor, she dreams of working on remote sensors at an engineering firm, then moving into leadership planning where she can use her business knowledge to make strategic decisions. 

Having participated in BE Women in Tech, she thinks women of all STEM and business backgrounds should broaden their skillsets if women are to establish equity in these worlds.

“BE Women in Tech helped me form connections with women from key companies, so I could develop an informed outlook of what real industry is like, and how I could see myself fitting into that space,” Bata said.

More creative collaborations: Vitro3D | Doha Shahba | Julie Gentile | Diego Alvarez

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