Kai Doron, an environmental science major, will be conducting research in Munich, Germany this summer through DAAD Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE). This program, sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service, offers unique opportunities for undergraduate students in STEM to work with research groups at universities and top research institutions across Germany for a period of 2 to 3 months during the summer.
Kai was awarded a partner scholarship co-funded by DAAD and Drexel's Research Fellowship Supplement Program (RFSP), a partnership between Undergraduate Research & Enrichment Programs and the Steinbright Career Development Center to support students pursuing summer research fellowship opportunities while fulfilling co-op requirements.
Through DAAD RISE, Kai will be participating in a research project on fossil Pentastomatids, a bizarre and rarely-studied group of parasites that have existed for over 450 million years. They will be using advanced imaging techniques like scanning electron microscopy in efforts to improve collective understanding of the way these ancient organisms lived, grew, and survived in the seas of ancient Europe.
Kai Doron, environmental science '28
Kai Doron is a third-year student majoring in environmental science. They have worked closely with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University since their first year, where they conducted a research project under the mentorship of Emily Griffith, PhD, and Jason Weckstein, PhD in the Academy's ornithology lab. This research was focused on the limb bones of ducks and geese and examined the evolutionary drivers of their structure. In the summer of 2025, Kai worked at the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota, an active dig site and museum that gave them additional experience with both vertebrate paleontology and museum collections work.
Kai has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College as a 2024 STAR Scholar.