Erim Ozcan.

Erim Ozcan — Brown University ’29

Inventor& engineer.

Erim Ozcan

First-year at Brown studying mechanical engineering and computer science. I invented a drone propeller that runs up to 40.7% quieter, lead a spatial-genomics instrument at the Tripathi Lab, and founded a robotics tutoring non-profit that's reached 150+ students.

See the propeller Get in touch
40.7%
max propeller noise cut
3rd
Engineering category, International Science & Engineering Fair
4.00
GPA at Brown
$400k+
VC deployed via Van Wickle Ventures

Featured invention — Patent pending · PCT

A propeller you can barely hear.

A novel low-noise drone propeller geometry. By looping the blades into a toroid and applying a custom blade treatment (LBSHO), it cuts perceived noise by up to 40.7% while gaining about 10% in efficiency.

40.7%
noise reduction (up to)
~10%
efficiency gain
Patent
pending — PCT office
Explore the 3D model

01 — Selected work

Research, inventions, and ventures.

01Research
Sep 2025 – Present
Providence, RI

Tripathi Lab, Brown University

Research Scientist

  • Design-team member developing the next generation of LabChip integrated liquid handlers.
  • Spatial-genomics project lead — building an electric-based slide flow cell for multiplex imaging.
02Invention
May 2022 – Aug 2025
College Park, MD

Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center, UMD

Research Staff

  • Started as a lab intern; brought on as aerospace department staff after securing grant funding.
  • Invented a novel low-noise toroidal propeller — up to 40.7% quieter, ~10% more efficient (patent pending).
03Founder
May 2022 – Aug 2025
McLean, VA

Unpuzzled Robotics

Co-Founder & CEO

  • Nonprofit bringing robotics to kids ages 4–12 in affordable-housing after-school programs.
  • Enrolled 150+ students across 3 locations and grew a network of volunteers and administrators.
04Venture
Sep 2025 – Present
Providence, RI

Van Wickle Ventures

Associate

  • Source and diligence startups at Brown's endowment-backed venture fund.
  • Helped deploy over $400k in venture capital.

02 — Honors & awards

Recognized for the work.

2025

Regeneron ISEF 2025 — 3rd Place, Engineering

Chosen out of 175,000 competitors worldwide. Plus the Midjourney Special Award of Excellence ($5,000).

2025

Regeneron Science Talent Search — Top 300 Scholar

National recognition from Regeneron & the Society for Science ($2,000).

2025

D.C. Junior Science & Humanities Symposium — 1st Place

Recognized for the oral presentation of the toroidal-propeller research ($2,000).

2024

MIT THINK Semifinalist

Plus Fairfax Science & Engineering Fair 1st Place and AIAA Nation's Capital 1st Place.

National Merit Scholar✦AP Scholar with Distinction✦Northwestern Economics Tournament — Semifinalist✦VEX — Virginia State Championship 2nd Seed✦Seton Tournament Champion (2023, 2024)✦Battle of the Bridge Champion✦National Merit Scholar✦AP Scholar with Distinction✦Northwestern Economics Tournament — Semifinalist✦VEX — Virginia State Championship 2nd Seed✦Seton Tournament Champion (2023, 2024)✦Battle of the Bridge Champion✦

03 — Foundations

Education & toolkit.

Education

Brown University

Providence, RI

B.S. — Mechanical Engineering & Computer Science (double concentration)

Class of 2029 · 4.00 GPA

The Potomac School

McLean, VA

Advanced coursework across calculus, physics, chemistry, economics & more

Class of 2025 · 3.99 GPA · SAT 1580

Online coursework

Remote

Harvard (Nonprofit Leadership) · MIT (Writing about Nature) · UVA (AI in Economics) · UAM Madrid

Continuing education

Technical toolkit

SolidWorksFusion 360Ansys FluentMATLABLabVIEWPythonJavaCAdobe IllustratorPremiere ProExcel

Languages

  • EnglishNative
  • TurkishNative
  • SpanishProficient

04 — Beyond the lab

There's more to it.

erimeats

A cooking blog pairing dishes from around the world with the stories — and issues — of the places they come from.

erimeats.com

VEX Robotics — Team Captain

Led design and drove the team to a 2nd seed at the Virginia State Championship and multiple tournament titles.

Swimming & Dive

Brown Club Swimming; Varsity Captain at Potomac. Mid-Atlantic Conference championships and a decade in the water.

Math Team — Captain

Ran curated problem sets and competed across DMV-wide math competitions.