Lucid Energy

I've started working with a very interesting company, Lucid Energy, as an applications engineer. The company is a startup in alternative energy, and my job involves fluid mechanics - exactly what I wanted to do with my degree! The premise of the company is straightforward - take some of the energy that gravity puts on municipal water pipes and turn it into electricity.

My first day on the job involved going down into our Portland installation, to get to know the brick and mortar side of things. Twenty feet below the road is one of the giant water pipes that supplies the Portland Metro area, and four of our turbines in it.

I had never been in an underground utility vault before - my first thought was that it was the closest I've ever been to being a Ninja Turtle... then we ordered pizza.