Research Park Honors Most Outstanding Interns of 2013

Category : Recognition & Awards
Posted on: August 2, 2013

Five outstanding interns working for companies in the Research Park, all students at the University of Illinois, were honored Aug 1. More than 400 highly-skilled student interns work for Research Park tenants, gaining valuable experience while making real contributions to internal corporate research and development programs.

The 2013 winners are:

Most Advanced Marketing/Business Development Intern: Megan Broom, senior in speech and hearing science, IMO (Intelligent Medical Objects, Inc.)

Megan recommended new processes which will be implemented at the corporate level.

Best Entrepreneurial Leadership in a Startup: Yuyan Hua, graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering, Serionix

“Diligent and aggressive,” in less than three months Yuyan helped Serionix progress on a project that has resulted in a minimal viable product being ready for customer evaluation.

Best Tech Innovation in the Research Park: Josh Eckhardt, senior in Computer Science, Caterpillar

Josh’s technical contribution to a web-based optimization tool is now being applied, and in just one manufacturing facility shows an initial cost reduction of $1 to 2 million.

Most Valuable Graduate Student in the Research Park: Dan Zhou, doctoral student in Food Science and Human Nutrition, Abbott

Dan translated scientific evidence into talking points and other information that can be used to educate policymakers on key Abbott Nutrition health policy issues.

Most Valuable Undergraduate Student in the Research Park: Daniel Loeblich, junior in Chemical Engineering, Dioxide Materials

Daniel’s work has accelerated company efforts to bring its CO2 sensor to market and made other important contributions to patent-pending fabrications.

Finalists in each category are: 

Most Valuable Graduate Student in the Research Park:Julie Honneger, Agricultural and Biological Engineering graduate student, Waterborne Environmental; Shuai Wang, Educational Psychology graduate student, State Farm Research and Development Center

Most Valuable Undergraduate Student in the Research Park: Sam Rappeport, Materials Science and Engineering undergraduate, Serionix; Bryan Plummer, Computer Science undergraduate, State Farm Research and Development Center 

Best Tech Innovation in the Research Park: Cristina Abad, doctoral student in Computer Science, Yahoo!; Brian Doherty, Computer Science undergraduate, IMO

Best Entrepreneurial Leadership in a Startup: Siddhant Morakhia, General Engineering undergraduate, BioAnalytics

Most Advanced Marketing/Business Development Intern: Michelle Kwak, Industrial Design undergraduate, John Deere Technology Innovation Center