Pratt Research Fellows

The Pratt Research Fellows Program is a unique, immersive opportunity for undergraduates to conduct authentic research with a faculty member. It’s a deeply engaging and rewarding experience. Typically, Pratt Fellows also graduate with Departmental Distinction and many other honors.

Third-year and advanced second-year students are encouraged to apply. Applications are accepted each fall, with a deadline of October 31.

2024 Fellows Poster Session

2:00 to 4:00 pm • Thursday, April 25 • Fitzpatrick Center Atrium

All are welcome!

Program Details

  • Traditional

    • Three (3) independent study semesters. Students earn a total of 3 course credits
    • 10-week, full-time internship experience on campus for one summer
    • Students receive a stipend of $5,000 to cover living expenses incurred during the summer research experience

    Alternative

    • Four (4) independent study semesters
    • Students earn a total of four course credits.
  • Pratt Research Fellows work on projects under the direction of dedicated faculty advisors. Course credit is given in your major in a linked three-semester course sequence:

    • 394: Engineering Undergraduate Fellows Projects
      Intensive research project selected by a Pratt Engineering Undergraduate Fellow. Course credit is contingent upon satisfactory completion of 493 and 494.
    • 493: Engineering Undergraduate Fellows Projects
      Continuation course for Engineering Undergraduate Fellows, contingent upon satisfactory completion of 394
    • 494: Engineering Undergraduate Fellows Projects
      Final course for Engineering Undergraduate Fellows, contingent upon satisfactory completion of 394 and 494
    1. Browse available research projects for your graduating class
    2. Browse samples of possible additional projects from last year’s research projects
    3. Contact and meet with engineering faculty to learn more about their projects
    4. Select up to six (6) research projects
    5. Rank your selected projects in order of preference
    6. Request a reference letter from an engineering faculty member
  • In the research projects section of your application, provide the Project Title and the Faculty name(s) for each preferred project.

    Ensure that your reference letter is submitted as an email attachment to Referen.ausriencbxpyiwd5@u.box.com.

    Complete and submit your application by October 31.

Program Coordinator

It’s a very satisfying feeling knowing that you’re contributing to and advancing the science.

Katherine Li Pratt Research Fellow, Class of 2022

2022-2023 Pratt Fellows

Akhil Bedapudi

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: George Truskey
  • Project Title: Effect of Adenine Base Editing on the Function of a Tissue-Engineered Blood Vessel Model of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Andres Bermudez

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: Joel Collier
  • Project Title: In vivo responses to a self-adjuvanting peptide nanofiber

Arunangshu Chakrabarty

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: Ashutosh Chilkoti
  • Project Title: Design and Optimization of Thermally Responsive Biopolymers for Cancer Vaccine Delivery

Reed Chen

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: Kathy Nightingale
  • Project Title: Emulating Clinical Muscle B-modes Using a Two Stage Machine Learning Model

Mohanapriya Cumaran

  • Majors: BME/Neuroscience
  • Faculty Mentor: Tatiana Segura
  • Project Title: Engineering Hyaluronic acid HA-derived hydrogels to treat stroke

Chloe Derocher

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: Nenad Bursac
  • Project Title: Demonstrating Functional Connectivity of a 3D Tissue-Engineered Neuromuscular Junction

Brian Kang

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: David Katz
  • Project Title: Molecular Diffusion of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Tissue

Yiru “Ru” Li

  • Majors: BME/Neuroscience
  • Faculty Mentor: Angel Peterchev
  • Project Title: Simulation and Analysis of Experimental Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Coils

Andrew Liu

  • Majors: ME/CS
  • Faculty Mentor: Nico Hotz
  • Project Title: Investigating the improvement of silica aerogels for utilization in solarthermal systems

Morgan McCloud

  • Majors: BME/ECE
  • Faculty Mentor: Joseph Izatt
  • Project Title: Designing An Ophthalmic Slit Lamp Module With Color Imaging For Use With An Autonomously Aligning Robotic Arm

Nikhil Peterson

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: Ashutosh Chilkoti
  • Project Title: Characterization of Cytokine-ELP Conjugates for Localized Cancer Immunotherapy

Jessica Shah

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: Samira Musah
  • Project Title: Development of a PDMS-free membrane-based glomerulus-on-a-chip for filtration function and disease modeling

Xiao Wu

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: George Truskey
  • Project Title: Rescuing Polarity Defects in Progeria Cells through Gene Therapy Approaches

Newland Zhang

  • Major: BME
  • Faculty Mentor: David Katz
  • Project Title: Computational diffusion and convection modeling of ethanol-ethylcellulaose ablation injection into porous tumor tissue

James Zheng

  • Majors: BME/ECE
  • Faculty Mentor: Ashutosh Chilkoti
  • Project Title: Amyloid-ELP Constructs for Molecular Switch Design

Featured Stories

Yi Chen at his piano
5/3Pratt School of Engineering

Yi Chen: Embracing New Challenges

Pratt Fellow Yi Chen switched his major from music to engineering; his research project seeks to squeeze more energy from batteries