Jesse Thornburg
ECE Courtesy Faculty, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Contact
Kigali Innovation City - Bumbogo
BP 6150, Kigali, Rwanda
- D204
Kigali Innovation City - Bumbogo
BP 6150, Kigali, Rwanda
Bio
Jesse Thornburg researches energy, batteries, and electric vehicles while teaching courses in electrical engineering and entrepreneurship. He enjoys mentoring students and alumni to harness siloed data and apply data science techniques for research and entrepreneurship. At CMU he leads the Energy with AI Lab. His background is in tech entrepreneurship, IoT, and software design, specifically in renewable energy, AI, and automation. He is co-founder of Grid Fruit, a software company that provides U.S. electrical utilities services in optimization, machine learning, and energy efficiency. He has more than 15 years of experience working with startup companies and early-stage entrepreneurs. He holds two SB degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in mechanical engineering and media.He worked on the Roomba for iRobot before leading power generation and water purification projects in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo for two years. He then completed M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Carnegie Mellon University in electrical and computer engineering. He helped launch the Samarkand International University of Technology (SIUT) in Uzbekistan, where he was the first Head of Engineering Programs and the founding director of their WIN Center for Entrepreneurship.
Thornburg has co-founded and worked as CEO of three companies, as well as mentoring and supporting many for-profit and non-profit ventures. He has served as a board member since 2020 and was invited to join Rwanda’s national investment steering committee in 2023. In 2026, he was selected for the deep tech cohort of the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship. He loves to build multidisciplinary, international teams. He has authored or co-authored over 40 technical publications, has one provisional patent filed, and is an IEEE Senior Member. He is also a member of the National Postdoctoral Association.