A recap of progress in 2025

Jacky Song | December 30, 2025

Just as I've done last year, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the progress and gains we've made as a team this year.

Overall, 2025 was an enormously exciting and productive year for Project Elara. Our team has more than quadrupled in size, so much so that we now have specialized divisions (research, engineering, dev, and community & outreach) within Project Elara! With our expanded team, we have conducted extensive research and engineering, and are well on our way to building our first prototype!

I am also proud to say that becoming part of the Rensselaer Center for Open-Source (RCOS) has paid dividends. Through RCOS, we're now actively engaged with the student community at Rensselaer, and we've had so many students working alongside us. Within and outside of RCOS, we have allies who have helped spread the word about Project Elara across Rensselaer, and thanks in part to them, we've had the opportunity to present on numerous occasions throughout campus.

I thank every member of our team for making this happen, as well as the countless supporters of Project Elara - especially our friends and mentors - for being there with us every step of the way. And I stand in gratitude of all the like-minded people we've met, everywhere we've gone. To me, it is deeply encouraging to be reminded that we are not standing alone: that there are so many others that believe in our mission and our ideals, and want to see us succeed.

In 2026, we'll continue to carry our mission forward, and work extra hard to do so. We'll aim to reach the goals set in our roadmap: refining our research and engineering, building up our network, and (most importantly!) applying for nonprofit registration to become a legally-recognized nonprofit. It will be a lot of work, but we are committed to making it happen. Stay tuned for our announcements in the coming year!

"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much."

Helen Keller