Thank you to all who attended the 2024 Intern Awards Ceremony!
Every year, we celebrate and recognize the amazing work of student interns working in the Research Park at the annual summer Intern Awards ceremony. This summer, we recognized six of these outstanding interns and one team of interns selected by a deliberation committee on Thursday, July 25 at the Atkins Patio.
Winners received trophies commemorating their achievements; a press release will also be sent to local media and campus units.
Award categories are:
Best Startup Intern
A student in a startup who has developed capabilities as an idea-generator, decision-maker, and team-builder. They help others above and beyond their job description, have a positive mindset, and take ownership of tasks from inception to completion. (Please note that this award is ONLY for interns working at startups – companies with 70 employees or less globally.)
Best Technical Innovation
Any intern who has helped with, independently created or led a team in developing solutions for the betterment of projects, processes, tools, or automation. They perform tasks that are self-driven, like improving the processes, cost savings, improving efficiencies, and using out-of-the-box thinking to solve business problems demonstrated through leadership.
Best Business Innovation
Any intern who has impacted their company through non-technical innovation. Their innovation may have entailed designing and implementing effective workflow processes, building strategic partnerships across industries, discovering new opportunities for company growth, or a project of a different form. No matter the medium of their innovation, their self-motivation, creativity, and leadership push the team and company towards greater success.
Most Outstanding Graduate Student Intern
A graduate student intern who is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers. They treat people with respect and inspire the trust of others, work with a high level of integrity, and are proactive in building relationships. They keep confidence, admit mistakes, can find common ground and encourage cooperation, and work well as a member of a team – both in leadership and membership roles.
Most Outstanding Undergraduate Student Intern
An undergraduate student intern who is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers. They treat people with respect and inspire the trust of others, work with a high level of integrity, and are proactive in building relationships. They keep confidence, admit mistakes, can find common ground and encourage cooperation, and work well as a member of a team – both in leadership and membership roles.
Most Competent and Collaborative Team
This team is like a well-oiled machine and knows how to get the job done. Every team player contributes to the best of their knowledge and expertise. The team has a conducive environment and as a whole is accountable for a very successful project or a project that was difficult to deliver.
2024 Intern Award Recipients
- Winner- Zoey Zhang: Bioprocess Development Intern, Boston Bioprocess (Masters in Bioprocessing and Bioenergy, Illinois Professional Science Master's)
- Thanushree Ambati Srinivas: Biotech Research Intern, Helixon (Masters in Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)
- Luigi Silvestre Passerotti: Mechanical Engineering Intern, Hinetics (Mechanical Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Winner - Shivani Birwadkar: Work Process Automation Intern, ADM Science and Technology Center (Masters in Information Management, School of Information Sciences)
- Shubham More: Emerging Technology Center Intern, Synchrony Emerging Technology Center (Computer Science and Physics, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Caleb Larson: Engineering Intern, AGCO Acceleration Center (Electrical & Computer Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
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- Winner - Yijin Wang: Emerging Technology Center Intern, Synchrony Emerging Technology Center (Master's Concentration in Analytics-Statistics, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)
- Khushboo Choudhary: Emerging Technology Center Intern, Synchrony Emerging Technology Center (Master's in Predictive Analytics & Risk Management, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)
- Gabrielle Wilki: RDC Intern, State Farm (Computer Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Winner - Mayank Dubey: Electrical Hardware Development Intern, Rivian (Mechanical Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Steve Xing: Machine Learning Intern, Brunswick Boating Intelligence Design Lab (Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Anshi Mathur: Data Science Co-Op, Bayer Crop Science (Statistics and Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Winner - Peeya Thacker: Project Manager/Data Science Intern, COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab (Master's in Information Management, School of Information Sciences)
- Muhammad Talal Khalid: Power Systems Intern, Electric Power Engineers (PhD in Electrical Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Ian Dsilva: GIS Technician Intern, Electric Power Engineers (Master's in Industrial Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Winner - Hourglass
- Nina Ayar: R&D Intern (Master's in Electrical Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Coggan Banerian: R&D Intern (Mechanical Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Sean Raiter: R&D Intern, Computer Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab
- Sai Venkata Abhijith Geda: Project Manager/Software Developer (Graduate in Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Ben Park: Software Developer (PhD in Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)
- Elijah Mock: Software Developer (Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Abhi Ramakrishnan: Software Developer (Computer Science + Music, College of Fine & Applied Arts)
- Shiyuan Liu: Software Developer (Information Science + Data Science, School of Information Sciences)
- Kyleah Rogers: Project Coordinator, Social Work, School of Social Work)
- Brunswick Boating Intelligence Design Lab
- Charlie Du: Computer Graphics Software Developer Intern (Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Youyou Zhang: Virtual/Mixed Reality Engineering Intern (Master's in Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Prathik Srinivasan: Computer Graphics Software Developer Intern (Master's in Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Jaden Ambrocio Alcantara: Computer Graphics/Engine Software Engineering Intern (Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Swathi Sureshmoorthy: Computer Graphics Software Developer Intern (Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Somrishi Banerjee: Computer Graphics Software Developer Intern (Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Sarah Masud: UX Research and Design Intern (Information Sciences, School of Information Sciences)
- Celina Anwar: Software Development Intern (Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Warren Lam: Electrification Engineer Intern (Electrical Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
2023 Intern Award Recipients
- Winner- Brisa McGrath: Laboratory Assistant, Natrion Inc. (Undergraduate in Materials Science and Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Nicholas Fazio: Bioprocessing Intern, Boston Bioprocess (Masters in Bioprocessing and Bioenergy)
- Yiming Zhao: Electrical Engineering Intern, Hinetics LLC (Undergraduate in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Winner - Ning Jiang: Software Engineer Intern, Aviatrix (PhD in Math, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)
- Ganesh Prasad: Data Science Intern, John Deere (Masters in Predictive Analytics and Risk Management, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)
- Aniket Ajay Lad: Electrification Engineering Intern, Brunswick (PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Winner - Suyash Nagumalli: VR Developer, AbbVie Innovation Center (Undergraduate in Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Angeline Lewis: Graphic Design Intern, AGCO Acceleration Center (Undergraduate in Industrial Design, College of Fine & Applied Arts)
- Madelyn Heidtke: Strategic Communications Intern, John Deere (Masters in Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences)
- Demi Apostolakos: Market Research & Communication Intern, Cargill (Undergraduate in Advertising, College of Media)
- Co-winner - Carlene English: Molecular Biology Intern, Genective (Undergrad in Environmental Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences)
- Co-winner - Charlie Du: Computer Graphics Software Developer Intern, Brunswick I-Jet Lab (Undergrad David An: Data Science Intern, Ameren
(Undergraduate in Mathematics) - Matt Straczek: Innovation Intern: Application Development, Ameren (Undergraduate in Computer Science, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Asher Mai: Machine Learning Intern, Rivian (Undergraduate in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Winner - Muhammad Talal Khalid: Power Systems Intern, Electric Power Engineers (PhD in Electrical Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering)
- Xochilth Saldana: Data Science Intern, John Deere (PhD in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences)
- Sanjana Pai: Data Science Intern, Country Financial (Masters in Information Management, School of Information Sciences)
- Winner - Cargill
- Robin Hazard: UX UI Design (Undergraduate in Graphic Design, College of Fine and Applied Arts)
- Maddie Kwon: UX UI Design (Undergraduate in Brain & Cognitive Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)
- Cargill
- Adaeze Asonye: UX UI Design Intern (Undergraduate in Information Science, School of Information Sciences)
- Sara Lin: UX UI Design Intern (Undergraduate in Graphic Design, College of Fine and Applied Arts)
- Nutrien Ag Solutions
- Bridgette Mason: Agronomic and Environmental Sciences (AES) Intern (Masters in Atmospheric Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)
- Samantha Bryan: Agronomic and Environmental Sciences (AES) Intern (Masters in Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics at Colorado State University)
- Sahar Yousefi: Agronomic and Environmental Sciences (AES) Intern (Masters in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences)
- Sam Theobald – Agronomic and Environmental Sciences (AES) Intern (Undergraduate in Professional Meteorology at Mississippi State University)
2022 Intern Award Recipients
- Winner - Shivam Tailor: Laboratory Assistant, Natrion (Undergraduate in Material Science and Engineering)
- Sarah Hashim: Engineering Intern, TipTek (Undergraduate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
- Tianshu Wei: Embedded Systems Intern, LifeFoundry (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Winner - Teja Gupta: Remote Sensing Scientist, Corteva Agriscience (Graduate in Computer Engineering)
- Elizabeth Atkinson: Electrical Engineering Intern, Starfire Industries (Undergraduate in Electrical Engineering)
- Ved Shah: DigitaLab Software Developer Intern, COUNTRY Financial (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Winner - Cindy Phung: UX/UI Design Intern, Cargill (Undergraduate in Graphic Design)
- Eric Goff: Modeling Intern, ADM (Undergraduate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
- Ethan Rasmussen: Business Analyst Intern, AbbVie (Undergraduate in Information Systems)
- Winner - David An: Data Science Intern, Ameren
(Undergraduate in Mathematics) - Ben Avila: Actuarial Intern, State Farm (Undergraduate in Actuarial Science)
- Madison Park: UX/UI Design Intern, Cargill (Undergraduate in Information Science)
- Winner - Natalie Xiong: Data Science Intern, Riverbed (Graduate in Psychology)
- Brendan Brasch: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Developer Intern, AbbVie (Graduate in Bioengineering)
- Mengfei Lan: Deep Learning for Metabolism Prediction Intern, Corteva Agriscience (Graduate in Information Science)
- Raina Monaghan: Enterprise Research Intern, State Farm (Graduate in Geographic Information Systems)
- Winner - Caterpillar’s Living Machine Logistics Team
- Anwita Balineni (Undergraduate in Information Science)
- Sam Erens (Undergraduate in Applied Mathematics)
- Dhwani Desai (Graduate in Information Systems)
- Prayag Patel (Graduate in Information Management)
- Brunswick i-Jet CES Team
- Charlie Du (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Brendan Parmer (Undergraduate in Computer Science and Mathematics)
- Meghan Reynolds (Undergraduate in Computer Science and Philosophy)
- Jaliu Sun (Graduate in Entertainment Technology)
- Girish Tiwari (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Procter & Gamble Smart Lab Operations Team
- Luke Boelke (Undergraduate in Computer Engineering)
- Carly Eberhart (Undergraduate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
- Lorraine Jamison (Undergraduate in Material Science and Engineering)
- Endri Kono (Undergraduate in Accounting)
- Andrew Osepek (Undergraduate in Computer Engineering)
2021 Intern Award Recipients
- Winner - Olivia Rentz: Mechatronics Intern, PSYONIC (Undergraduate, Biomedical Engineering)
- Daniel Gealow: Computational Biologist Intern, SimBioSys (Undergraduate in Biomedical Engineering)
- Molly Izzi: Graphic Design Intern, Ascent Integrated Tech (Undergraduate in Graphic Design)
- Winner - Arif Syraj: Data Science Intern, EarthSense (Undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering)
- David Liu: Intern I, Technica, Yahoo (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Aman Khinvasara: Strategic Integration & Talent (ITS) Intern, AARP (Undergraduate in Computer Engineering)
- Gautham Krishnan: Contracted Student Researcher, Corteva (Graduate in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics)
- Winner - Anna Chi: i-Jet Industrial Design Intern, Brunswick (Undergraduate in Industrial Design)
- Matthew Waldinger: Visual Designer Intern, AbbVie (Undergraduate in Graphic Design)
- Winner - Eddie Chapman: Library Information Specialist, AbbVie (Graduate in Computer Science)
- Aadish Naik: Perception Engineering Intern, Brunswick (Graduate in Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Anisha Jauhauri: Software Development Intern, Corteva (Graduate in Information Management)
- Pranay Thangeda: Summer Research Intern, Corteva (Graduate in Aerospace Engineering)
- Winner - Daniel Polites: Actuarial & Modeling Intern, State Farm
(Undergraduate in Actuarial Science) - Nicholas (Nico) Lavalle: Actuarial & Modeling Intern (Undergraduate in Statistics)
- Xi (Adam) Zhao: Data Science Intern, Corteva (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Neil Kaushikkar: Software Developer – Project Manager, COUNTRY Financial (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Winner - Ameren Innovation Center Data Team
- Steven Brodijan (Undergraduate in Computer Engineering)
- Sarah Simpson (Graduate in Mathematics)
- Edward Tang (Graduate in Technology Management)
- Jeremy Livshots (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Katie Kabbes (Undergraduate in Psychology)
- Ashley Alfred (Graduate in Mathematics)
- Xander Pero (Undergraduate in Industrial Engineering)
- Maury Lira (Undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering)
- ETC Hoteling Team/Synchrony
- Emily Tokarski (Graduate in Aerospace Systems Engineering)
- Anushka Bose (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Amy Chen (Undergraduate in Information Systems)
- Emily Vera (Undergraduate in Computer Science)
- Wanxing Dai (Undergraduate in Data Science)
- Pabba Ashish (Graduate in Electrical Engineering)
- Wei Yang (Graduate in Electrical Engineering)
- Rudra Patel (Undergraduate in Finance and Accounting)
- Vinayak Adukia (Graduate in Financial Mathematics)
- Brunswick i-Jet Material Science Team
- Quentin Rizzardii (Graduate in Material Science)
- Vaachit Srikumar (Undergraduate in Material Science)
2020 Intern Award Recipients
- Winner - Grayson Schaer: Research Associate, Editekk (Undergraduate, Aerospace Engineering)
- Winner - Katherine Ritchie: Cancer Metabolic Modeling Intern, SimBioSys (Undergraduate, Computer Science)
- Ali Taghibakhshi: Student Robotics Intern, John Deere (Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering)
- Eric Cheng: Data Analyst, AbbVie Innovation Center (Ph.D., Food Science and Statistics)
- Winner - Nupur Bhardwaj: Human Resources & Community Intern, Motorola Solutions (Undergraduate, Marketing)
- Vishaank Ghai: Project Manager, COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Economics)
- Anne Zulkarnain: UX/UI Designer, Cargill (Undergraduate, Industrial Design)
- Eric Cheng: Data Analyst, AbbVie Innovation Center (Ph.D., Food Science and Statistics)
- Jialu Yan: Data Scientist Intern, Cargill (Ph.D., Physics)
- Jack Massey: Actuarial Intern, State Farm (Masters, Statistics)
- Grant Greenberg: Neuroscience Bioinformatics Intern, AbbVie Innovation Center (Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Winner - Harry Zhao: Engineering Intern, Caterpillar (Undergraduate, Aerospace Engineering)
- Winner - Anders Cox: Plasma Processing Intern, Starfire Industries LLC (Undergraduate, Electrical Engineering)
- Dominic Di Girolamo: Actuarial Intern, State Farm (Undergraduate, Actuarial Science)
- Jessica Huang: Market Research Analyst, AbbVie Innovation Center (Undergraduate, Accounting & Information Systems and Information Technology)
- Winner - Granular Flex Team
- Jake Stahl: Data Specialist (Undergraduate, Agriculture Business Market and Management)
- Jordan Breedlove: Data Specialist (Undergraduate in Agriculture Business)
- Cloud Animal Health Shared Services Team
- Rishi Choudhary: Project Management Intern, EnterpriseWorks (Undergraduate, Systems Engineering and Design)
- Fides Icalina: Graphic Design Intern, EnterpriseWorks (Undergraduate, Graphic Design)
- Prit Delada: Front End Developer Intern, EnterpriseWorks (Undergraduate, Geographic Information Sciences)
- Jane Kim: Social Media & Communications Intern, EnterpriseWorks (Undergraduate, Media and Cinema Studies)
- Cargill Team
- Johnny Chang: Undergraduate in Electrical Engineering
- Jamie Lim: Undergraduate in Industrial Design
2019 Intern Award Recipients
- Winner - Shaoyu Meng: Software Engineer, LifeFoundry (Masters, Electrical & Computer Engineering)
- Xiofan Zhang: Neural Network Engineering Intern, Inspirit-IoT (Ph.D., Electrical & Computer Engineering)
- Jugat Singh: Summer Engineering Intern, InstaRecon, Inc. (Masters, Computer Science)
- Winner - Harshit Gupta: Data Science Technology Intern, Syngenta (Masters, Information Management)
- Ashley Oyirifi: Biomedical Innovation Researcher, AbbVie (Ph.D., Nutritional Sciences)
- Qianli Chen: Data Scientist, COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab (Ph.D., Civil Engineering)
- Winner - Mallory Gorman: Associate Product Owner, Nutrien Ag Solutions (Undergraduate, Agricultural Engineering)
- Sherry Yi: Idea Summer Lab Intern, AbbVie (Ph.D., Educational Psychology)
- Nikita Nerkar: Web Developer, Ekey Technology (Masters, Technology Management)
- Zhuzhu Wang: Product Development Intern, Abbott (Ph.D., Food Science)
- Winner - Saurav Yadav: Data Scientist, COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab (Masters, Information Management)
- Nuraini Aguse: Front End Intern, InstaRecon (Masters, Computer Science)
- Winner - Derek Meyer: P&C Actuarial Intern, State Farm (Undergraduate, Actuarial Science)
- Avani Patel: Clinical Research Intern, PhotoniCare (Undergraduate, Bioengineering)
- Winner - Intelinair Agronomy and Deep Learning Intern Team
- PSYONIC Mechanical Engineering Team
- AARP Computer Programming Team