Spotlight Stories
Mar 09, 2026
Driven by Curiosity: Rohith Poola’s Journey in Autonomous Robotics
Rohith Poola, MS’26, is a robotics student in the Autonomy and Intelligence Lab at Northeastern, where he works on projects in autonomous navigation and off-road traversability estimation. Guided by a deep curiosity and strong mentorship, he plans to pursue a PhD and eventually establish his own research in autonomy and planning.
Mar 05, 2026
Making His Research Matter: From Lab to Practical Applications
Francesco Pessia, PhD’27, electrical engineering, develops machine learning systems for autonomous antenna calibration at the Mentis Lab in collaboration with the Institute of Intelligent Networked Systems. After graduation, he plans to transform his research into practical applications—either through industry or by launching his own startup in wireless communications technology.
Mar 04, 2026
Beyond the Comfort Zone: An Undergraduate’s Journey to Quantum Research
Through co-ops and research, Evan Clifford, BS’26, electrical engineering, discovered his passion for quantum computing—a realization that is now shaping his path to graduate school and led to his first publication in the Journal of Optics.
Feb 26, 2026
Shalini Agrawal’s Journey in Robotics from “Scratch”
Shalini Agrawal, MS’26, robotics, works as a robotics software engineer co-op at Orpheus Ocean, where she’s applying the state estimation and sensor integration skills she developed at Northeastern’s Field Robotics Lab. After graduation, she plans to bring her hands-on experience to industry, advancing autonomous robotics systems at scale.
Feb 24, 2026
Building from Scratch: A PhD Journey in Bio-inspired Robotics
Bibek Gupta, PhD ’27, computer engineering, is developing morphing-wing robots at the Silicon Synapse Lab. From building bat-inspired systems from scratch, he’s mastered the modeling, control, and deployment skills needed to create robots that solve real-world problems—expertise he’ll bring to industry after graduation.
Feb 09, 2026
New and Knowledgeable Experiences Through LEADERs
Elifnur Sunger, MS’25, PhD ’26, electrical engineering, reflects on her internship at Sanofi-blending machine learning and biology-as well as crucial lessons from the LEADERs Program.
Feb 09, 2026
Motivation to Innovation: Passion for Improving Lives
Shaghayegh Mesforoush, PhD ’26, electrical and computer engineering, is a graduate researcher at eSOIL at Northeastern. Shaqo values hand-on experiences and uses her passion for positive impact to pioneer innovative research in the medical field.
Feb 04, 2026
Research, Industry, and Innovation with Haichao Zhang
Haichao Zhang, PhD ’27, computer engineering, is currently working at the SMILE Lab at Northeastern. Combining vast project experience and industry collaboration, Zhang continues to develop cutting-edge research in the ever-evolving field of AI.