Kyle C. Smith was raised in Orrville, Ohio after which he pursued a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. After receiving a B.S.M.E.from Purdue University in 2007 he is now studying for Ph.D. at Purdue as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. His research interests include heat conduction in solid state hydrogen storage media, nano-scale thermal transport, and renewable energy solutions. At the Birck Nanotechnology Center and Zucrow Labs he is modeling heat conduction in metal hydrides and developing metal hydride compacts with enhanced heat conduction. He has been actively involved in undergraduate mentorship through Purdue’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. Kyle and Prof. Timothy Fisher are actively collaborating with researchers in India (JNCASR, Bangalore) on several projects, including ab initio modeling of metal hydrides, discrete element modeling and quasi-static compression of metal hydride powders, and chemical nanosoldering. These projects are a direct result of their extended international research experience in India funded by NSF, Purdue College of Engineering, and Purdue Department of Mechanical Engineering.