Student Spotlights
Abriana Stewart-Height, Ph.D.
GRASPing Greatness
As a doctoral student in Electrical and Systems Engineering and researcher in Dan Koditschek’s locomotion-centric group of the GRASP Lab, Stewart-Height developed ways for four-legged robots to recover movement after suffering limb loss, in order to preserve these machines and their valuable data, even in complex, dangerous surroundings. “I really want the research I do in robotics to have a broader impact,” says Stewart-Height. Read More
Ro Encarnación
Fighting for Algorithmic Justice
For Ro Encarnación, a doctoral student in Computer and Information Science (CIS) at Penn Engineering, computers have always been a source of wonder. She still remembers seeing one for the first time at the home of a family friend. “I would just stand by that room,” Encarnación recalls, “wanting to use the computer so badly.” In-Tech Academy, a combined middle and high school in her native Bronx, New York, introduced her to web design. “Creating websites using computing languages was like magic to me.” Read More
Shriya Karam
Eisenhower Fellowship Awardee
Shriya Karam has utilized her Penn Engineering undergraduate experience to research and develop methods in transportation accessibility and equity. The fourth-year undergraduate in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering was named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation in March 2022 and was an Eno Center of Transportation Student Essay Contest Winner. Currently, Karam is a Research Assistant at the Center of Safe Mobility, where she has developed a new metric to measure accessibility to the aviation system that incorporates the constraints of disadvantaged travelers. Read More
Brandon Gonzalez
Discovering a Passion for Engineering
For some, engineering captures the imagination at a young age. But while Brandon Gonzalez wondered at the marvels of his Nintendo Game Boy when he was young, it wasn’t until he took engineering courses as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania that he found his passion. Read More
Maria Ovando
Research and Self-discovery
The process of discovery sometimes starts with a hunch. Maria Ovando arrived at Penn Engineering with an affinity for math and science, extensive experience volunteering at her local health clinic and an assumption that she was preparing for a career in medicine. She was drawn to Penn Engineering because of the flexibility in the curriculum and the ability to both tailor her course of study and pursue cross-disciplinary subjects. Read More
Niko Simpkins
At the Nexus of Engineering and Music
For Niko Simpkins, a musician who performs, produces and engineers his own tracks, the most exciting processes combine structure and flexibility, creativity and rigor. As a third-year student he sees his mechanical engineering education as a framework for problem solving that might serve him across a broad set of endeavors, and for now, he’s more interested in learning than narrowing to any one particular career path. Read More
Ruby Washington
Poised to Make Her Mark in Bioengineering
Data show that healthcare disparities plague the Black community in America, making it harder to receive adequate treatment and care. But rather than just accepting the status quo, Ruby Washington, senior in the Department of Bioengineering, is dedicated to leveraging her interest in biomedicine to change outcomes and systems. “I feel that I have a duty to help my community and make the healthcare system better for people who look like me,” she says. Read More