Minmin Fu

Shoutout to Minmin Fu-this girl’s the real deal in climate science, and her story is straight-up inspiring. She’s part of YC S24, which is a huge win, but what really makes her stand out is her crazy background and what she’s doing now.

So, Minmin crushed it academically – she’s got a B.A. in Physics and Math from UC Davis, and she did that with highest honors. Basically, she’s been a genius from day one. Then, she jumped into the deep end, getting her Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard, working with Eli Tziperman. That’s some top-tier stuff – Harvard and Yale, no less. She was a Flint Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale, working with Alexey Fedorov, diving into paleoclimate stuff like the warm Pliocene, Last Glacial Maximum, deep time climate shifts. Basically, she’s been studying how Earth’s climate worked back in the day, which is key for understanding what the hell is happening now with climate change.

But here’s the kicker – her research isn’t just nerdy science for science’s sake. She’s obsessed with the El Niño Southern Oscillation and how tropical Pacific Ocean dynamics respond to today’s climate chaos. She’s looking at how the past can tell us what’s coming, and that’s super useful right now. Her work is like connecting the dots between ancient climate and future risks. No cap, she’s the kind of person who’s trying to crack the code on climate resilience.

And she’s more than just a researcher – she’s a powerhouse educator. She snagged a Teaching Certificate at Harvard and now drops knowledge as a Climate Science Lecturer at the University of Southampton. Bottom line: she’s making sure the next generation gets it right.

What does this all say about her motivation? It’s simple: she’s driven by a desire to understand Earth’s past so we can fix its future. She’s not just doing this for a fancy paper or some academic creds. She genuinely cares about climate, wants to make a difference, and is jumping into the startup world to push real solutions. That’s why she’s in YC – she’s trying to build something that actually impacts climate resilience or maybe some tech that helps predict or adapt to climate chaos.

Long story short, Minmin Fu is a scientist turned startup founder who’s seen the big picture. She’s got the brains, the track record, and the passion to do some seriously effective shit in the climate space. She’s proof that to change the world, you gotta understand it first – and she’s here to do just that.