Department of Mechanical Engineering

Forbes has selected MECH alumnus Sam Bertram '16, M.S. '18 of OnePointOne as Forbes 30 Under 30: Social Impact. Read more here.


Sam is the Co-Founder and CEO of OnePointOne, which is revolutionizing vertical farming through automation, AI and plant science. 


Born and raised in Australia, Sam came to Santa Clara University on a tennis scholarship. He
developed an affinity for mechanical and robotic engineering, and was appointed research and
teaching assistant at Santa Clara University’s Robotic Systems Lab (RSL).

There, under the mentorship and direction of RSL director Christopher Kitts, Sam developed his
business idea and founded the company OnePointOne, while completing a master’s degree in
Robotics and Mechatronics. OnePointOne, a fully automated vertical indoor farming system,
aims to fill the globally widening gap between supply and demand for fresh produce through a
a proprietary combination of plant science, robotics, and machine learning technologies.

Willo, OnePointOne’s direct-to-consumer subsidiary, was launched in June 2020. Using the 
state of the art vertical farming technology, Willo, offers subscribers a personalized cultivation
and delivery service that connects consumers directly to their own plot in Willo’s vertical farm. In
the future, this technology aims to disrupt plant production across healthcare,
biopharmaceuticals, crop science, and others.