April 1, 2024

We're pleased to announce that five Drexel students have been selected as recipients for the 2024 DAAD Research Internships in Science & Engineering (RISE)! Through RISE, they will spend the summer conducting research at universities across Germany.

Before leaving for Germany, four of the five will spend the Spring Term working in research co-op positions at Drexel. These co-ops are supported by the Research Fellowship Supplement Program, co-funded by Undergraduate Research & Enrichment Programs and the Steinbright Career Development Center.

Congratulations to all of our recipients!

Aidan Cotton
materials science & engineering '25
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yury Gogotsi

Aidan Cotton is a fourth year engineering and materials science major who has been an undergraduate researcher since his second year at Drexel. Within campus, he works on campus in Dr. Yury Gogotsi's lab as a researcher, and outside of campus, he is a volunteer for Citizen's Climate Lobby, a non-partisan group of citizens encouraging climate friendly legislation in Congress. After Drexel, he intends to apply for PhD programs to continue his scientific work. 

Through RISE, Aidan will spend the summer at Technische Universität Berlin synthesizing, characterizing and testing MXenes for their use in energy storage devices.

Aidan has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College through the Honors Program and as an Undergraduate Research Mini-Grant recipient.

Arya Gopikrishnan
BS electrical engineering MS robotics & autonomy '26
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lifeng Zhou

Arya Gopikrishnan is a third year student pursuing a BS/MS degree in electrical engineering and robotics & autonomy. She was first introduced to research in robotics during her sophomore year when she joined Zhou Robotics Lab and worked on autonomous robot balloons. She is currently beginning her coop at RoboChef in Chicago, where she will be working as a Robotics & Computer Vision Engineer. 

As a recipient of the DAAD RISE research program in Germany this summer, Arya hopes to evolve in research in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics where she will be working on emergent language via deep Reinforcement learning at Bergische Universität Wuppertal. Her future aspirations are to pursue a career in Robotics & AI.

Arya has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College as an Undergraduate Research Mini-Grant recipient.

Priscilla Kirabo
BS/MS civil engineering '26
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yaghoob Amir Farnam

Priscilla is a third-year BS/MS student majoring in civil engineering with a keen interest in sustainability and the environment. Her interest in sustainability peaked in the summer of 2022 when she had the opportunity to do research in the Advanced Infrastructure Materials (AIM) lab through STAR. She learned about the application of phase change materials to make more sustainable infrastructure materials such as self-heating concrete. Priscilla now works on the Bio FRC project. She aspires to pursue a career in civil engineering to develop and design engineering projects with high material and energy efficiency to minimize environmental impact.

Through RISE, Priscilla will be conducting research on developing cementitious materials with recycled combustion slag at Technische Hochschule Köln in Cologne, Germany.

Priscilla has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College through the Honors Program and as a 2022 STAR Scholar.

Olivia Maddox
environmental science '26
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Andrew Smith

Olivia is currently a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor of science in environmental science with a concentration in ecology & evolution. She was first introduced to the world of science and research through the STAR Scholars Program, where she worked with Dr. Dane Ward on a project related to nature relatedness and diet-related CO2 emissions. She never saw herself entering a STEM field but was able to find this passion through working on research. She is passionate about sustainable food systems and hopes to delve into alternatives to current factory farming methods. For her first co-op, she worked at the Philadelphia Water Department in a research group focused on the replacement of lead service lines in the city. Currently, she is working on research with Dr. Andrew Smith related to Indigenous ecological knowledge and settler anti-colonialism. Olivia loves spending time outdoors and enjoys running, serving as vice president of the Drexel Club Track team. She works on voter engagement activities as a student representative for DrexelVotes with the Lindy Center. She is also a photographer for the student newspaper, The Triangle. 

Olivia is beyond thrilled to spend the summer at Technische Universität München in Freising, Germany working on a project studying the role of vegetative structures in urban green spaces for human thermal comfort in climate change through the DAAD RISE program.

Olivia has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College through the Honors Program and as a 2022 STAR Scholar.

Maven Mercado
environmental science '26
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jocelyn Sessa

Maven Mercado (they/he) is a 2026 candidate for the BS in environmental science with a concentration in applied environmental science. They are also double minoring in geoscience and biological sciences. Maven is a student in the Liberty Scholars Program, which awards underrepresented students with a full-tuition scholarship for twelve academic quarters. During the summer after their freshman year, they interned with Heights Philadelphia as a teaching/administrative assistant. For their first co-op, they were awarded funding in the amount of $6,000 from the Steinbright Partners Program to complete an unpaid co-op at the Philadelphia Zoo. Since January 2023, they have been working as a research assistant in the Invertebrate Paleontology department of the Academy of Natural Sciences. For their second co-op, they were awarded funding in the amount of $4,000 from the Research Fellowship Supplement Program to continue this research full-time. Through RISE, Maven will be doing research at Universität Hamburg, analyzing ostracod assemblages across the Permian-Triassic boundary to reconstruct paleoecological conditions.

Maven is a queer, Hispanic, first-generation North Philly native who takes pride in all of these identities. When they're not focuses on school, work, or research, they love reading, watching horror movies, and walking around the city. 

Maven has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College through the SuperNova Undergraduate Research Fellows Program.

DAAD RISE is a summer internship program for undergraduate students from North America, Great Britain, and Ireland in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, and engineering. RISE offers unique opportunities for undergraduate students to work with research groups at universities and top research institutions across Germany for a period of 2 to 3 months during the summer.

The Research Fellowship Supplement Program (RFSP) is 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. Read more about RFSP in our 2022 news announcement.

For more information, visit the DAAD RISE website or contact UREP at fellowships@drexel.edu.