GEARE Student Experiences in 2022 - Part 2

One of the important pillars of the GEARE program is the completion of a work experience. Having an internship or research experience as an undergraduate student is a great opportunity to apply classroom learning to a real-world engineering project. Last summer, GEARE students were able to complete work experiences across the country and the world. We will be sharing some of these student experiences on a weekly basis this semester.

Annelise Nauman is a Junior in Biological Engineering who was an Analytical Research and Development Intern at Merck, a pharmaceutical company, last summer where she “worked on using mass spectrometry to characterize novel vaccines.” She “had a wonderful time learning more about the pharmaceutical industry and discovering what a future career in that field could look like.” She also enjoyed being a part of a “great team that taught [her] so much about analytical chemistry, industry research, and vaccine development.”

During her internship, Annelise got the opportunity “to attend multiple research symposiums highlighting the cutting-edge work done by various teams in Merck’s Analytical Research & Development division” where she learned about applications to the ideas she has been learning in classes. Her participation in GEARE gave her “the intercultural knowledge to help [her] interact with scientists and engineers from many different countries and backgrounds, which made the internship much smoother.” She is hoping “to spend next summer interning in the pharmaceutical industry in Europe!”

Thanks to Annelise for taking the time to answer some questions about her experience and I hope you enjoyed hearing it. We will continue to share student experiences like these in the future.