Steve Hamstra is the Senior Vice President of Engineering for Melink Solar & Geo. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and has more than 40 years of experience in the geothermal industry. The majority of Steve’s career was spent building an architect and engineering firm in Holland, Michigan, where he worked on his first geothermal commercial project in 1985. During a brief leave of absence in the design world, Steve served as CEO/CTO of Greensleeves LLC, a geothermal design and control software company. While there, he received an ASHRAE Global First Place Award for the engineering design of the geothermal HVAC system at the University of Findlay. He was also successful in getting two geothermal-related technology aspects patented. Throughout Steve’s career, he has contributed to many trade publications and conferences, including those held by ASHRAE, IGSHPA, and the U.S. Department of Energy. He is currently Vice Chair of ASHRAE Technical Committee 6.8 Ground Source Heat Pumps and a member of IGSHPA’s Research Committee. His work has gotten him named Energy Engineer of The Year in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, as well as an AEE Fellow for lifetime achievement in the energy industry by the Association of Energy Engineers.