Powen Pai

Powen is an MBA/MEM candidate interested in corporate sustainability and regenerative agriculture. Prior to Yale, he worked at a vertical farming startup designing research trials to maximize crop yields and minimize production cycles. He also served in international development in the Caribbean, focusing on precision agriculture and technology transfer for climate-resilient farming. Additionally, Powen conducted graduate research at a UC-ANR affiliated lab in California, specializing in molecular crop disease diagnostics and integrated pest management for specialty crops.

At YSE, Powen was a research associate at Yao Lab, working on Life Cycle Assessment projects, and interned with Walmart's Global Responsibility to address Scope 3 emissions and sustainable transportation.

Powen holds a Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from Penn State and a Master's in Plant Pathology from UC Davis. Outside academics, Powen is an avid sauna enthusiast (having visited over 60 worldwide) and enjoys cold plunges. Reach out if you're interested in a fantastic sauna getaway in Maine—he often jokes that he makes most of his friends through sauna conversations