Two MIT Sloan student groups have won the prestigious Master of Business Analytics Capstone of the Year award, honoring students whose visionary contributions optimize business operations for leading companies.
The Analytics Capstone Project is a seven-month required course in which Master of Business Analytics students collaborate with industry partners to tackle real-world data challenges. The winners presented their projects during the 9th Annual MIT Analytics Capstone Showcase, the culmination of the one-year master’s program.
Team PearlX
Students Thibault Soubeste and Steve Zhou, both MBAn ’25, teamed with PearlX to speed up the rooftop solar screening process. PearlX partners with multifamily owners and developers in California on energy infrastructure.
Team PearlX: Steve Zhou, left, and Thibault Soubeste, right
Variances in rooftops and installation requirements can complicate the assessment of solar feasibility in multifamily properties. It sometimes requires several days of manual work from multiple teams.
The MIT student team developed and deployed advanced, creative computer vision and optimization algorithms to devise an accelerated, end-to-end pipeline — compressing the one-week manual rooftop solar screening process into just 30 minutes.
“This project had a significant commercial and social impact, reducing the company’s proposal process by two weeks and increasing ROI per solar project by almost 10 percent. This project paves the way for residents from low-to-moderate income communities living in multifamily housing to have access to clean energy,” said Michelle Li, director of the Master of Business Analytics program.
“Being awarded Capstone of the Year is an honor. It strengthens our confidence in the path we’ve taken and fuels our commitment to applying groundbreaking ideas in our future work,” Soubeste said.
"This collaboration with MIT Sloan directly supports our mission to provide access to solar for underserved communities and populations," said Pete Mendonez, co-founder and COO at PearlX. "By dramatically reducing the time and cost of solar feasibility screening, we can now evaluate hundreds of properties efficiently and focus our resources on the most promising projects. This scalability is essential for expanding equitable access to clean energy in communities that have historically been left behind."
Team Pfizer
Emma Beal and Amelia Whitworth, both MBAn ’25, partnered with Pfizer’s digital manufacturing team to create a fast and flexible shipping optimization tool to match batches of drugs to delivery trucks. Their alternative reduces manual shipment planning time and possible human errors. The team was so successful that Pfizer will pilot a trial at a manufacturing plant in Ireland.
Team Pfizer: Emma Beal, left, and Amelia Whitworth, right
“The model saves planning time, fulfills more demand, saves cost, and reduces schedule variance. The stakeholders from the company in Ireland were so pleased with the work that the pilot site is already seeking to replicate the proof of concept and potentially expand to more sites around the world,” Li said.
“Through this experience, we saw firsthand the meaningful business impact of optimization applications, and we hope to bring that lesson with us as we move forward in our careers,” Whitworth adds.
Overall, the class completed 41 projects across multiple industries and functions—giving students relevant industry real-world experience and offering companies crucial MIT expertise.
Li said that the program is currently seeking partnership opportunities with companies for future courses. Interested companies may contact BusinessAnalytics@mit.edu for more information.
About the MIT MBAn Program
The MBAn program is an intensive, one-year STEM-designated degree that equips students with expertise in data science, machine learning, optimization, and business problem-solving. Taught by world-class faculty at the intersection of business and analytics, students gain practical experience through hands-on projects and a seven-month Capstone with industry partners. Graduates emerge ready to lead data-driven teams in fields such as consulting, finance, technology, and health care.
The MBAn class of 2026 marks the program’s 10th anniversary.
