Rose-Hulman students are at the forefront of innovation. This summer, several students explored new ideas and ventured into the unknown through internship programs. From researching in esteemed laboratories to working at companies like McDonald’s, Cummins and Wolfspeed, these Rose students are pushing the boundaries of knowledge to new heights.
Abbi Leul
Abbi Leul, a senior from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia via Minneapolis, Minnesota, is an engineering design major with a minor in entrepreneurial studies.
This summer, Leul was one of 15 interns to participate in the Global Technology Rotational program at McDonald’s headquarters.
Leul worked on developing a data visualization dashboard for corporate leaders. The internship complements her goal of creating impact-driven, digital products that integrate into societies across the globe.
“I got a chance to assemble burgers for the McDonald’s Italy market menu items!” said Leul. “It was such a humbling experience that made me appreciate the speed, precision and dedication of employees at McDonald’s.”
At Rose, Leul is a peer advisor for Career Services, senator for National Society of Black Engineers and serves as the international transition mentor for the Center for Global Engagement.
Jeremiah Sweeny
Jeremiah Sweeny, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Indianapolis, Indiana, worked at Valgotech LLC, a small startup specializing in battery technology research and development.
In his role, Sweeny was charged with integrating physical and electrical aspects of innovative battery products with preexisting products, like drones. His goal is to become a professional engineer.
He is able to pass that support for the field to younger students as a mentor for First Robotics Competition's Area 5188 team. His passion for his work is electric.
Lily Doré
Lily Doré, a junior computer engineering major from Lafayette, Louisiana, worked at the Department of Energy's Kansas City National Security Campus (KC-NSC), which is managed by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies.
Doré (front row, seventh from left) connected with Honeywell at the fall Career Fair. The recruiters weren't allowed to disclose job specifics, but the "suspense" intrigued Doré. She worked on the nonnuclear parts of nuclear weapons and was able to apply concepts she learned in her classes, including DC Circuits.
"I loved every second of it," Doré said. "My managers' and my teams' support was amazing throughout the whole internship."
At Rose, Doré is a member of the women's soccer team, the women's swim team, and Delta Delta Delta. She has already signed an offer to return to KC-NSC next summer.
Gaurav Gajavelli
Gaurav Gajavelli, a sophomore from Gainesville, Florida, is double majoring in computer science and software engineering. This summer, he interned at Indigo BioAutomation, as part of the Techpoint Xtern program in Indianapolis.
At Indigo, he worked on projects related to the Ascent chromatography quantitation web application, both of which are aimed at improving the performance of the primary peak detection algorithm of the product.
Gajavelli believes one of the most interesting parts of his internship was seeing how test-driven development facilitates the transition from research to product, and seeing how tests can be viewed as a living document for each iteration of the product, as well as the effort that goes into testing the user experience.
He was also excited to find the majority of software engineers at Indigo are Rose alumni, which made the company’s culture of collaboration feel very much like being on campus.
At Rose, Gajavelli is involved in the ESCALATE program, which encourages first-year students to learn about and compete in entrepreneurship.
ESCALATE was the catalyst for his interest in startups and was part of his decision to take up the opportunity Rose provided to work with entrepreneurs in the USC Iovine and Young Academy.
Since the end of last winter, Gajavelli has worked with a team of entrepreneurs/creators to develop the minimum viable product for Droplands, an augmented reality mobile game.
Kiana Martin
Junior Kiana Martin learned how to dissect a porcine kidney during her internship with Medtronic this summer.
The mechanical engineering major from Portage, Michigan, worked in the Return Product Analysis Lab, where the team ran analyses to determine why medical devices failed during surgery.
The lab dissects a porcine kidney each week to test surgical equipment, particularly LigaSure products that are used to seal vessels.
"My project this summer was to make a critical testing procedure for a PCB in the generator used for the medical device Sonicision Sabre," Martin said.
"I also had some time to work with R&D where I helped with position validation of medical shears for Hugo (robot-assisted surgery)."
On-campus, Martin is co-president of the Engineers Without Borders - Rose-Hulman chapter and is the captain of the women's soccer team. She is also a member of the indoor track and field team, Rock Climbing Club, and Blue Key Honor Society.
Trilokshan Vinayagamoorthy
Trilokshan Vinayagamoorthy, who graduated in spring with a degree in computer engineering, is working on his master’s degree in engineering management. Originally from Chennai, India, Vinayagamoorthy spent the summer working as an electronics controls intern at Cummins.
As part of his internship, Vinayagamoorthy conducted data analysis and report generation using the MATLAB Program for the Overall Assessment Test (OAT).
An OAT test is a series of vehicle field tests that have been designed to assess the performance of the engine control module. Vinayagamoorthy developed a tool that reduces almost 5-7 hours of time per OAT test.
Vinayagamoorthy’s dream goal is to be a successful serial entrepreneur. He credits Rose for providing him with a cutting-edge education in engineering, science and technology, and fostering a strong foundation of technical knowledge
“Additionally, Rose-Hulman helped me through their entrepreneurial programs. … The campus culture encourages creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, essential for entrepreneurial success.”
At Rose, Vinayagamoorthy is part of the Sawmill Society and a member of the Triangle fraternity.
Shelby Schipper
Shelby Schipper wants to live in a future that she designs.
The senior engineering design major from Louisville, Kentucky, works as an assistant technician in the Branam Innovation Center (BIC), helping other engineering design students with their projects in the 3D-printing lab and machine shop.
Schipper completed an eight-month co-op as a Test Engineer Intern at Indesign LLC in Indianapolis. She worked to find bugs or issues with consumer electronics, medical, and military products. She has enjoyed creating strong bonds and friendships with her colleagues.
Catherine Hodge
Catherine Hodge, a sophomore from Greencastle, Indiana, is majoring in electrical engineering and interned at Allison Transmission in Indianapolis this summer
Her project was to analyze drawings and data on all the parts the electronic controls hardware group services, and then put her findings in a document for all other groups to see what parts are available.
She also spent time wiring harnesses to program a transmission control module in Allison Transmission’s eLab building.
Hodge’s career goal is to work in a leadership role as an electrical engineer. She believes Rose is helping her refine her professional and leadership skills while, at the same time, teaching her technical engineering skills.
At Rose, Hodge is involved in LSN and Chi Omega. She also occasionally participates in the weekly line dancing club.
Philip Pounds
At Rose, Pounds is involved with the Electric Propulsion Research Group as a researcher on the structural and power team.
He is also a Noblitt Scholar, part of the STEM outreach committee and participates in RISE as director of ESCALATE. Pounds also plays in the soccer club, intervarsity and Team Rose Motorsports.
Reilly Foote
Reilly Foote, a senior from Wausau, Wisconsin, is majoring in mechanical engineering. This summer, she interned as a project manager at Wausau Window and Wall Systems.
She worked with projects from the approval stage through the installation and finalized documents issued. She was the customer’s primary contact, assuring the project followed schedule and made decisions if any issues arose.
“I love how my internship experience has helped me be part of the entire process and I was able to visit one of the job sites in Chicago to see our product being installed,” said Foote.
“I also enjoyed being able to follow the fabrication of projects by checking up on them on the manufacturing floor.”
At Rose, Foote is a member of the cheerleading squad and diving team, as well as the scuba diving club.
Chelsea Saucedo and Svarnika Bommakanti
Chelsea Saucedo (middle), a junior mechanical engineering student from Austin, Texas, and Svarnika Bommakanti (right), a senior mechanical engineering major from Tampa, Florida, were two of several Rose-Hulman students who interned at Wolfspeed this summer (also pictured: Souley Cissokho, left).
Saucedo, returning to Wolfspeed for the second year, worked as a process engineer on the production floor.
Saucedo enjoyed the opportunity to work with her hands at her internship, troubleshooting specialized machines that prepare crystals to be cut into wafers.
Saucedo focused primarily on optimizing the machines' run times as well as implementing the 5s - Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain - into the production floor.
"Rose-Hulman is preparing me academically to take on many challenges and especially how to work through problems in real-life scenarios," Saucedo said.
Bommakanti worked on building temperature profiles to help identify key characteristics of the semiconductor packages. Her work will help develop a look-up system for future testing.
"It's really evident that interns - and their work - matter, and everyone at Wolfspeed is there to help us succeed," Bommakanti said.
Both Saucedo and Bommakanti aspire to work on an executive-level team. Their internships gave them the opportunity to network with Rose alumni working at that level, including emeriti Trustee Gregg Lowe, Wolfspeed's President and CEO.