Welcome to Duke Design Climate, where bold ideas meet sustainable innovation to tackle the world's most urgent environmental challenges
Design Climate is a startup incubator that scales climate and energy ventures from concept to seed-stage with multi-disciplinary teams of entrepreneurs, academic talent, and industry-leading mentors. Our goals are to:
1. Prepare early-stage companies for assessment and success with seed funders and venture studio partners.
2. Build, test, and refine prototypes by leveraging the deep bench of talent at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering and Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.
3. Provide an unparalleled educational experience that is hands-on and real-world, preparing students for success and building a strong pipeline of talent for our broad ecosystem of partner companies.
At Design Climate, we are proud to seed ventures and train leaders to take on the epic challenges of the climate crisis. Apply to our Innovators program to propose a Design Climate project.
Design Climate Video
“Professors like to work with students who are smart and dream big. This group of students is what I was hoping for. They are energetic, curious, and motivated, and they helped me believe more in the potential for commercializing this technology.“
DR. JIE LIU
DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY DUKE UNIVERSITY
“Truly memorable class. It was inspiring to see our theoretical knowledge come to life through practical application, plus creating lasting memories and strong bonds with everyone involved.”
YURONG (ANNIE) HUANG
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION MASTER OF ENGINEERING
“Design Climate has provided incredible opportunities to further my business, with access to lab space and the unparalleled resources that Duke has to offer. Working with the students has been rewarding and impactful.”
MARY LEMPRES
CO-DESIGNER & FOUNDER, CEO, REEFCYCLE
“I admired the way our professors advocated for our teams. They provided so many opportunities for us to get out there and pitch.This class has been a wonderful experience.”
