Meet STEP UP Intern Bikash Acharya

Bikash Acharya may not be from the U.S., but he hopes his talents will help University Park use their $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in a way so it works not only for residents but for future towns that mimic their model.

Acharya, 25, of Nepal, is here studying towards his PhD in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. 

"My advisor told me about the internship," he said. "He's into energy efficiency and got me into it."

Acharya hopes to take what he learns from this summer, abroad, so that others can understand how to use energy resources in a way that it might have less of an impact on the planet.

He's impressed by the town's efforts to decrease its energy use by 20 percent.

Acharya is studying the technical side of energy in his field, like how heat transfers. That's how his knowledge will apply to the program — to help them with their data management and to identify technical issues.

Although he'll spend his days working with STEP UP, he can often be found playing his guitar or watching movies.