Damon Vander Lind is a kite designer for Makani Power, a wind power generation company owned by Google. Vander Lind loved working in his dad’s shop as a kid, tinkering with boats and model gliders, which fueled his passion for design and engineering. After receiving an engineering degree from MIT, he thought he wanted to get a doctorate, but during his post-college internship at Makani he fell in love with the work and decided to stay. He now leads a team that is building high-altitude kites that can generate more power than conventional wind turbines. He says that while not all start-up projects succeed, it only takes one successful project to make a huge difference. He finds it extremely exciting to be a part of that process.