Jesse Thornburg
Assistant Teaching Professor, CMU-Africa
Jesse Thornburg teaches entrepreneurship and business courses as well as mentoring students interested in becoming entrepreneurs. His background is in tech entrepreneurship and product design, specifically in the IT and energy sectors. He is co-founder of Grid Fruit, a software company focused on energy efficiency, data science, and monitoring, where he has served as CEO and COO. He has more than 12 years of experience working with startup companies and early-stage entrepreneurs. He received two BS degrees from MIT in mechanical engineering and comparative media studies.
He led power generation and water purification projects in Rwanda and DR Congo for two years before completing MS and Ph.D. degrees at Carnegie Mellon University in electrical and computer engineering. He was the founding director of the WIN Center for Entrepreneurship and Head of Engineering Programs at Samarkand International University of Technology (SIUT) in Uzbekistan.
Thornburg has co-founded and served as CEO for three companies, as well as mentoring and supporting many for-profit and non-profit ventures. His experience includes power systems development, engineering management, product development, mechanical design, grant writing, fundraising, and serving as a board member since 2020. He helps build multidisciplinary, international teams. He has authored or co-authored over 20 technical publications and is a member of IEEE and the National Postdoctoral Association.
Tech Entrepreneurship across Sub-Saharan Africa
Education
Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
MS, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
SB, Mechanical Engineering, MIT
SB, Comparative Media Studies, MIT
Research Interests
Media mentions
Vermont Business Magazine
Thornburg discusses Grid Fruit refrigeration tools
CMU-Africa’s Jesse Thornburg, cofounder of Grid Fruit, talked with Vermont Business Magazine about his efforts to bring data-driven intelligence to food retail operations.
Teknovation
Thornburg’s startup helps grocery stores save money and electricity
Grid Fruit, led by CMU-Africa’s Jesse Thornburg, provides energy-saving measures to grocery stores by improving refrigeration and freezing cycles.