{"id":80044,"date":"2025-07-21T07:23:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T07:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/80044\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T07:23:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T07:23:11","slug":"from-art-conservation-to-robotics-research-heres-how-penn-students-are-spending-summer-on-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/80044\/","title":{"rendered":"From art conservation to robotics research, here\u2019s how Penn students are spending summer on campus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"img-8530\"\/
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tStudents discuss their experiences in the various summer programs Penn offers.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Gundappa Saha<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Each summer, hundreds of Penn students remain on campus to participate in research programs in fields ranging from business to political science, cultural heritage, neuroscience, and more.\n<\/p>\n

Penn’s summer programs \u2014 open to students from all years and schools, often regardless of prior experience \u2014 place students in labs, offices, and institutions across campus. The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with students in six summer programs about their experiences and takeaways.\n\t\t<\/p>\n

Applications for programs typically open early in the calendar year. For many students, these programs represent their first exposure to research or professional work in their field of interest.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

“We believe that all students who want to do undergraduate research should be able to,” Ann Vernon-Grey \u2014 director for undergraduate research at the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships \u2014 said in an interview with the DP. “You shouldn’t make the decision not to do it from a place of ignorance or fear.”<\/p>\n

According to Vernon-Grey, summer offers a particularly valuable time for students to try a new opportunity as it is typically “a less distracted time,” allowing students to “really focus in on one thing.”\n<\/p>\n

Vernon-Grey highlighted the long-term impact undergraduate experiences can have on careers, even for students not pursuing academia. She mentioned the importance of skills like \u201cthe ability to formulate and then try to answer really hard questions \u2026 to take intellectual risks \u2026 to work well as part of a team.”\n\t<\/p>\n

“We know that employers look for the kinds of skills that you build as a researcher,” she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program<\/p>\n

For undergraduates seeking their first research experience, PURM<\/a> offers a ten-week, full-time opportunity across disciplines. This year, 248 first-year and second-year students were matched with faculty mentors to work on projects culminating in a fall research exposition.\n<\/p>\n

College sophomore and biology major Jailyn Cardwell is working in the Tishkoff Lab<\/a>, which studies global population genetic variations. She explained that many of the diseases for which we have information are largely based on European or East Asian populations.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Her project investigates whether there is any positive selection for albinism in specific African populations. Though she had no prior coding experience, she\u2019s now using computational tools to analyze a set of around 40 genes.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing how much I\u2019ve learned in the last six weeks has been quite incredible,\u201d she said. “You are learning so much, and that’s a big part of Penn. You’re always here to learn.”\n<\/p>\n

Engineering junior Sid Mody and College junior Eric Cui are working in a robotics lab through PURM contributing to a project on dexterous robot manipulation.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe give a robot any object, then we want the robot to be able to take a camera, look at an object, construct a model of the object, but then be able to manipulate it all like in real time,\u201d Cui explained.\n<\/p>\n

Mody, who studies mechanical engineering, said he “didn\u2019t know or appreciate the software side of the world,” and he “found it interesting.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Cui said that, as a math and computer science student, writing code with implications “in the real world\u201d is rewarding.\n<\/p>\n

Both students spent past summers in professional spheres \u2014 acknowledging the “unique” role of PURM in the world between industry and academia.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTo go from the industry experience to understanding how academia worked and the slower paced, more focused on a single question experience was interesting to me,\u201d Mody said.\n<\/p>\n

MindCORE Summer Research Fellowship<\/p>\n

For students wanting a more interdisciplinary research experience, MindCORE<\/a> offers a 10-week opportunity to explore brain science through fields such as neuroscience, computer science, psychology, and linguistics. This year\u2019s cohort includes just over a dozen undergraduates.\n<\/p>\n

Vagelos Program in the Molecular Life Sciences sophomore Jonathan Mehrotra, who is studying biochemistry and computer science, is spending his summer in the Peseran Lab<\/a>. His project is \u201cbuilding models to predict\u201d how brain waves correlate to common OCD symptoms.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

He spends most of his time building machine learning models from EEG data under the guidance of his principle investigator, who is \u201csuper helpful and easy to approach,\u201d Mehrotra said.\n<\/p>\n

The MindCORE program supports exposure to diverse areas of cognitive science through weekly lecture lunches, which help students understand the opportunities in the field.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people think of the cognitive sciences, I, at least, had a pretty narrow-minded idea of what that type of research could be,\u201d Mehrotra said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Mehrotra explained that his experience has taught him how applicable his passions, such as computer science, are to the brain.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely made me re-evaluate my trajectory,\u201d Mehrotra explained.\n<\/p>\n

Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

PORES<\/a> offers a 10-week, full-time research experience focused on political data, survey design, and election studies.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

College junior and political science and history major Carolina Payeras is researching the relationship between race and party identification, and what changes those patterns. She has been working on \u201ccreating and fielding surveys,\u201d and has had the opportunity to contribute to papers and articles.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really, really great to be so involved in the process,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

College senior and political science and environmental studies major Jane Kinney is working on climate politics.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

She explained that her work involves researching \u201chow businesses respond to climate risk and climate regulations,\u201d as well as analyzing the impacts of the \u201cInflation Reduction Act on voting patterns.” Her tasks include compiling an extensive literature review and building a dataset.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Both students emphasized the value of PORES\u2019 professional development programming, which includes guest speakers every Monday and Thursday. Payeras said that experts come from \u201cdifferent perspectives of using data science.”\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really cool to see what you can do with the experience and the education you\u2019re getting from PORES,” she added.\n<\/p>\n

Though PORES is largely coding-focused, Kinney said that “it’s not just data people.”\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The program also maintains a close relationship with NBC\u2019s Decision Desk \u2014 with Kinney spotlighting a lunch students had with NBC staff.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Payeras said the most rewarding part has been \u201cgetting to be super involved with such high-level work \u2026 and getting to work with such amazing Penn professors.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Summer Humanities Internship Program<\/p>\n

SHIP<\/a> places Penn students in 10-week, full-time positions at cultural and public service institutions across Philadelphia, including the Penn Museum, the National Constitution Center, Historic Germantown, and the University Art Collection.\n<\/p>\n

Sierra Williams, a College junior and cultural and linguistic anthropology and linguistics major, is interning at the Penn Cultural Heritage Center<\/a>. Her work supports the Missions and Acquisitions <\/a>project, which tracks ethical collection and provenance practices across museums. One of her main roles is to organize and add to spreadsheets from previous years, researching \u201cmuseums and \u2026 their acquisitions, and whether that information is readily available online.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Beyond her day-to-day research, Williams participates in weekly museum programming. Each Wednesday, interns attend museum training sessions led by staff and faculty, and on Thursdays, they take field trips to museums and public service organizations across the city.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cJust making sure that we give back to the communities that we are teaching the public about has been really cool,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

College sophomore and art history major Nina Mayers is interning with the University Art Collection<\/a>. With a team of just two full-time staff, she is involved in everything from cataloging and photography to art installation.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my job is doing the annual art inventory,\u201d she said \u2014 involving thousands of pieces of art, many of which are located around campus. Mayers recently assisted in conservation efforts for works affected by mold and has shadowed meetings with structural engineers and conservators.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

This summer has reinforced Mayers\u2019 goal of becoming an art conservator.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way that people talk about art, the way that people interact with it, has really cemented the way I want to work with art,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Mayers added that working closely with her mentors has helped her build valuable connections in the field, especially as \u201cthe art world is so hard to break into.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Penn Sustainability Office Interns<\/p>\n

Each summer, Penn Sustainability<\/a> hosts a cohort of undergraduate and graduate interns working on environmental data, education, and operations.\n<\/p>\n

Second-year master\u2019s student in environmental studies Jason Klein is serving as the data and strategic waste intern. Much of his work centers on \u201cTrash Talk,\u201d a new waste education module he helped script and produce for first-year student orientation. The project builds on a waste audit initiative he worked on during a class, which inspired Penn Sustainability to continue the idea and develop a full Canvas module.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really cool to have a position where it\u2019s a continuation of something you\u2019ve already worked on,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

Klein is also conducting a comparative analysis of Penn\u2019s past Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System reports. His task is to identify trends and recommend improvements to help Penn move from a gold to a platinum rating \u2014 which he said has made him even more \u201cinterested in the importance of data in sustainability.”\n<\/p>\n

Yimi Shao, another second-year student in the MES program, is working as the transportation intern. Her work spans several major projects, including updating the campus vehicle fleet inventory and analyzing Penn\u2019s application for the Bicycle Friendly University Award<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

She explained that she is \u201cdoing a gap analysis to see how [Penn] can improve our campus bicycle commuting,\u201d as Penn currently holds a silver award. Shao also supports university-wide sustainability reporting, which involves reviewing federal policy changes and ensuring Penn\u2019s documentation is up to date.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Shao mentioned her interest in the role due to a connection with her academic capstone project about \u201csite selection of the EV charging stations in Philadelphia.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Klein said the most rewarding part is knowing that “the things I\u2019m working on are able to be utilized by anyone to help improve their lives as well as the community at Penn.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Penn Office of Investments Interns\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Penn Office of Investments<\/a> manages the University\u2019s $23 billion endowment, supporting costs such as research, student aid, and healthcare.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

This summer, Wharton junior Grace Hu is interning with the office, joining a small cohort of undergraduates.\n<\/p>\n

Hu works full-time supporting research, note-taking, and meetings with fund managers, with her current projects focused on the real estate sector.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cA big part of what we do is \u2026 we invest in people,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

She added that the work involves \u201crelationship management” and “people skills.”\n<\/p>\n

The mission-driven culture has stood out to her. With a small team \u2014 many of whom are Penn alumni \u2014 the office supports close mentorship of interns and a shared commitment to the University.\u00a0\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\tSign up for our newsletter<\/p>\n

Get our newsletter, DP Daybreak, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is very self-motivated, and \u2026 they choose to work at Penn because they really care about the school,\u201d she added.\n<\/p>\n

Hu has also “grown to appreciate Philly a lot more.”\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cMake the most of the city,” she advised. “A big part is your internship, but another big part is the little fun memories you can get from summer.”<\/p>\n

The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation<\/a> to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.<\/p>\n

Donate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Students discuss their experiences in the various summer programs Penn offers. Credit: Gundappa Saha Each summer, hundreds of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":80045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[23234,10436,5229,8433,8432,8430,50,1448,2830,1311,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-80044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-academic-research","9":"tag-academics","10":"tag-america","11":"tag-app-top-news","12":"tag-beats","13":"tag-centerpiece","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-pa","16":"tag-pennsylvania","17":"tag-philadelphia","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114890028063489788","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}