International travel leads Keegan Dolan back to Memphis to study green energy
June 9, 2026
After traveling the world, Keegan Dolan found his future in the Herff College of Engineering at the University of Memphis.
The Memphis native, who graduated from St. Benedict at Auburndale, earned an undergraduate degree in physics from another university but still felt unfulfilled after graduation. During a gap year, he searched for answers and took part in a program called Workaway, an organization that helps budget travelers abroad by pairing them with hosts willing to exchange housing for labor.
“I found this person named Daniel who lives in a city called Castelo Branco on the border of Portugal and Spain and I got to go live on his farm while helping him clear this plot of land that he had. In return, I got to live in a foreign country for a couple of months, which was, honestly, a very, very fun experience. It was the exact sort of thing I was looking for out of that gap year,” Dolan said.
During his undergraduate years, Dolan developed a passion for the environment. He returned to the United States with a new goal for his future and brought that passion to the Herff College of Engineering.
“In that gap year, I spent a lot of time traveling, and I kind of realized that I didn’t think I wanted to pursue a career in physics. I wanted to pivot into something that had more of a real-world impact,” Dolan said.
While searching for the right graduate program to pursue a PhD, Dolan met Dr. Alexander Headley, an assistant professor in Herff’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
“I met with a couple of other advisors at other universities, and Dr. Headley really did stand out to me as being a very genuine, down-to-earth guy. The way he explained his research project aligned very well with my personal values and goals. That’s a lot of the reason why I chose the University of Memphis, because I found an advisor who really seemed to get me,” Dolan said.
Headley’s research focuses on making more efficient batteries for electric vehicles. Dolan said that the difficulty of storing green energy discourages companies from entering the field. He hopes that by making green energy more convenient and longer lasting, the field will become more marketable and lead to less reliance on fossil fuels.
“The research we’re focusing on is finding ways to charge and discharge batteries that are more efficient and, overall, increase the life of the battery, essentially making the number of times you have to replace the battery in a given year much lower,” Dolan said.
When he left for Portugal, Dolan couldn’t see how his background in physics could translate to his passion for the environment, let alone connect to a future in engineering. Headley and the Herff College of Engineering not only helped him put those pieces together but also put him on the path toward making the real-world impact he sought.
“I think that this program has offered me a new lease on life,” Dolan said. “It’s allowed me to take this degree that I spent four years of my life getting and actually get some productive value out of it and advance my career at the same time... I really do think that this program is going to help me achieve the goals that I want, and the University of Memphis has allowed me to find a program that works for me.”