RPI Interns Join Berkshire Innovation Center's SolaBlock

PITTSFIELD, Mass — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduates Rachel Soto-Garcia and Abdullah Abid have joined clean-and-construction technology company SolaBlock, a member of the Berkshire Innovaction Center, through Rensselaer's "Invent@Rensselaer Startup Immersion" program.

"This internship gives me an opportunity to understand and appreciate the renewable energy industry in a new light. I want to help places that are still developing and help the world for a better tomorrow," Soto-Garcia said, adding her parents experienced frequent power outages from rain in their home country of Guatemala.

They will create a depository of all blueprints for the company, alongside updating the automation of SolaBlock's Solar Masonry Units (SMUs), which embeds a solar cell into a cement masonry block.

"My parents are originally from Pakistan, and I have often heard and experienced several instances of rolling blackouts due to lack of supply of electricity. SolaBlock represents a clear way to not only switch over to sustainable methods of energy but to greatly add on to any location's energy supply," Abid said.

The internships will offer Soto-Garcia and Abid hands-on experience in their field as they prepare to return to  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this upcoming fall to develop their masters' project for their M. Eng. degree in mechanical engineering.

Less than two hours from the Rensselaer campus, SolaBlock's final assembly plant will open this summer in the city.

Professor Asish Ghosh, Director of the Inventor's Studio Courses and Invent@Rensselaer Startup Immersion Program, and a Professor of Practice at Rensselaer's Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering Department, said that such programs help the entire ecosystem of universities, startups, and state & federal agencies focused on advancing the STEM-based workforce.

Eric Planey, chief executive officer of SolaBlock, noted that partnering with Rensselaer will help SolaBlock expand its operations.

"For SolaBlock, not only do we have access to such premier engineering talent like Abdullah and Rachel, but as we enter the New York State market, having the credibility of a strong relationship with RPI will accelerate that growth. RPI also has an incredible architecture school, and potential collaboration there will also help us get our product into market," Planey said in a statement.

Soto-Garcia and Abid graduated in May with their bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering.

Professor Diana Borca-Tasciuc, an expert in solar cell design and technology in Rensselaer's Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering Department, said that the collaboration with Solablock would lead to innovating, designing, and manufacturing of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), a step in the right direction to achieve net zero buildings.

Professor Antoinette Maniatty, Acting Department Head of Mechanical Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, also the home to the Invent@Rensselaer Startup Immersion Program for the School of Engineering, noted that these internships would lead to several collaborative projects between Rensselaer, SolaBlock and sources of funding both at the state and federal levels, including the implementation of new manufacturing jobs.

State Education Officials Visit Pittsfield on 413 Day

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:19AM / Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike chats with youngsters in the Boys & Girls Club Children's Center.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — State education officials stopped in Pittsfield and North Adams as a part of Monday's "413 Day" tour to highlight early education and early college opportunities. 

At the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires child care center in Pittsfield, Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike heard from community-based preschool educators about workforce needs and the impact of the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative. Some credited the program for creating an official connection between early education and public school. 

Zrike, only 11 days in his position, said having kids come through the elementary school doors with a powerful preschool or early childhood experience is "significant." Last year, as part of a multi-year initiative, the Pittsfield Public Schools were awarded $250,000 through the CPPI to expand access to preschool for 3-and 4-year-olds across the city.

"We know that early childhood educators are woefully underpaid in many places. We also know that the supports and training so that we can retain some of the quality people is something we've got to continue to work on to enhance the quality, but we're off to, I think, a good start," Zrike said. 

"And I come today to learn from another community and to better understand the infrastructure that you built here in Pittsfield." 

Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said what the district really wants is for students to come into kindergarten ready, and readiness goes beyond academic skills.  

"It's very much a social emotional readiness," she said. 

"It's ready to learn, which means knowing how to cut, knowing how to walk in line, knowing how to share, and I think those are the pieces through early education where it's important for us to partner so that when the handoff comes, we are ready. It's important for us to approach this as a continuum. Not just we are pre-K through 12. No, we are a community continuum, all of us focused on the support of our students." 

Mayor Peter Marchetti said part of this, to him, is creating a level playing field for all students to start in, "And if we can create that field at 3 years old, rather than third grade, we're miles ahead of it."