Several Berkley Center program alumni were celebrated as part of Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2025 including Co-Founder of Heliotrope Photonics, Minh Tran, PhD (Tandon ’23), and Founders of Rooted Fare, Ashley Xie (Steinhardt ’20) & Hedy Yu.

Minh and the Heliotrope team previously participated in the 2023 NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge, where they made it to the Final round of the Tech Venture Competition and took home the Audience Choice Award. The innovative venture is making waves in the solar energy industry with an innovative coating that can help solar panels boost power generation by up to 15%. The team took the top spot in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 National EnergyTech University Prize competition for their groundbreaking technology. Learn more about Minh and Heliotrope in her Forbes 30 Under 30 feature!

Ashley, Hedy and the Rooted Fare team previously took part in the 2021 NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge in the Social Venture Competition track. The team has making their mark in the food and beverage industry ever since, including a recent feature by Bloomberg, and being listed as a top gift idea in the Associated Press’ 2024 Holiday Gift Guide! Learn more about Ashley, Hedy and Rooted Fare in their Forbes 30 Under 30 Feature!