# @ucberkeleyofficial on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DN6Ejvoj46G
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64635411-ucberkeleyofficial-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c2d8379c09.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-08-28T17:38:36.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** UC Berkeley (@ucberkeleyofficial) — https://gondola.cc/ucberkeleyofficial

## Caption

Inès Pajot is an incoming first-year student with plans to major in physics. Read how she plans to use her time at Berkeley to find new energy sources for our warming planet.

“I’m originally from Paris, and moved to London when I was 6. I remember learning about climate change in science class — simple things, like the greenhouse effect. So I knew it was a problem, but it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind.

I became more interested in climate work in secondary school through learning about how energy is generated. I was really interested in fusion, a natural process that happens in stars — it’s how the sun turns matter into energy, which is where we get all the radiation we have on Earth. I started looking into the different ways to produce energy.

I spent a year in the Bay Area when I was 16 when we moved here temporarily for my dad’s job. I attended a private school called The Nueva School in San Mateo. There was such a huge emphasis on sustainability, so I decided to hop on the train and get involved. Other students and I founded the High School Clean Energy Investment Coalition, an organization made up of students who work with their schools’ endowment boards to invest in renewable energy. It has grown to encompass more than 50 high schools and 11 countries around the world. 

At Berkeley, I plan to work toward finding a clean energy solution. Right now, I’m most interested in fusion. There are people trying to create nuclear fusion power plants because one fusion reaction generates vast amounts of energy. If it’s realized, it would be a very big solution to climate change. 

I could see myself using that work to try to build a company. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself; I’m very open to all different life paths. I’m going into it with an open mind.”

📸 Stanley Luo/UC Berkeley

#UCBerkeley #ImABerkeleyan

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- **Likes:** 1,731
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## Tags

ucberkeley, imaberkeleyan

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