Student Voices

Current students and recent alumni reflect on their personal and academic experiences in the College of Engineering

students at homecoming tent

The College of Engineering at UMass Amherst is a diverse college housed within a major research university, which allows our students to engage in hands-on engineering by conducting cutting-edge research, building team projects, and pursuing innovative, entrepreneurial ideas and solutions. Our student organizations reflect the diversity within our college and provide opportunities for experiential learning, professional development, peer-to-peer support, and community service.

As a student in the College of Engineering, the possibilities for making friends, making memories, and preparing for a rewarding career are truly endless. Below, you can hear from some of our recent graduates about how they made the most of their time on campus.

“UMass Amherst’s College of Engineering gave me more than just a foundation in chemical engineering—it gave me the chance to contribute meaningfully to research that could shape future cancer therapies and imaging technologies. I’m most proud of the work I’ve done in the Peyton Lab and at the Light Microscopy Core Facility, where curiosity turned into real-world impact. The mentorship, the challenges, and the freedom to explore have all shaped who I am as an engineer.”

Dimitri Nikolla '25

Chemical Engineering major Dimitri Nikolla ’25 served as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Peyton Soft Materials Lab, where he studied remodeling proteins in the context of breast cancer metastasis. He coauthored multiple research publications and presented his findings at local and national conferences. He also served as a Microscopy Specialist in the Nikon Center of Excellence within the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS), which involved operating advanced imaging systems and assisting researchers, graduate students, and faculty. After graduation, Dimitri entered the PhD program in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice University.
Learn more about Dimitri's award-winning work for IALS
“I’m most proud of my honors thesis project, where I designed and prototyped an innovative chest tube drainage system holder. This product is aimed at improving early mobility, independence, and overall quality of life for patients requiring chest tube support. Contributing to a solution that addresses real clinical challenges has been one of the most meaningful parts of my academic journey.”

Nare Parseghian '25

Biomedical Engineering major Nare Parseghian completed her honors thesis project in the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation, designing and prototyping a chest tube holder to assist nurses in improving patient care. She was also a member of the UMass MedTech team, and served as an undergraduate research assistant in the Jungwoo Lee Research Lab. She was also named a 2025 Jack Welch Scholar, a merit scholarship funded by the GE Foundation. After graduation, Nare began working as a design quality engineer at Haemonetics, a medical device company in Boston where she previously completed a summer internship.
Learn more about Nare
“For any incoming students, I would advise them to try to get involved in research, even if the subject may be out of their comfort zone. Partaking in research gave me a new perspective on how to approach problems inside and outside the classroom and introduced me to exciting new topics. It also gave me the opportunity to gain academic independence and take ownership over my work in the lab, which was a unique and fulfilling opportunity.”

Claire Walko '25

During her time at UMass, Chemical Engineering major Claire Walko worked as an undergraduate researcher in Professor Nick Wu’s laboratory. Her research focused on green ammonia production, and she won the Outstanding Presentation Award at the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium for her presentation on photocatalytic ammonia production.

She also completed a research and development internship at Circe, a food decarbonization start-up in Cambridge. That experience, along with her time conducting sustainability research at UMass, inspired her to pursue a PhD—after graduation, she began attending the PhD program in chemical engineering at MIT.
Learn more about Claire's award-winning research
“I had an internship with the Fish and Wildlife Service with the fish passage engineering team. We designed fish ladders, dam removals, and culvert replacements, which combine structural, geotechnical water resources, and transportation engineering, so the Civil and Environmental Engineering curriculum set me up perfectly for that experience.”

Raul Vera '24

Civil and environmental engineering major Raul Vera was a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, conducted research with the Energy Transition Institute as well as watershed hydrology research with Dr. Christian Guzman, and interned with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's fish passage engineering team. He won the Undergraduate Sustainability Research Award, administered by the UMass Amherst Libraries, for his paper on the ongoing water crisis in the Nile Basin. Raul plans to attend graduate school to continue his hydrology/water resource research.
Learn more about the Energy Transition Institute
“UMass Amherst is filled with opportunities to grow and learn as a student and an individual. The College of Engineering is a strong community, both on campus and through the active alumni network, where there is a place for each and every student who wishes to be a part of it. They say you can make a big school feel small and the communities within the College of Engineering are a testament to that.”

Jessica Durkee '24

Jessica Durkee is an electrical engineering major, engineering management minor, and member of Commonwealth Honors College. During her time at UMass, she was an active member of the UMass chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and served as its Community Service Outreach Chair for the past two years. Over the past two years, she also worked on an NSF-funded project under Professor Dennis Goeckel studying the effect of RF Fingerprinting on covert communications. In addition, she played on the UMass Women's Club Rugby team (which placed second nationally last spring!) and participated in Project Connect, which allowed her to attend the 2023 International Microwave Symposium. After graduation, she began working on airborne radar systems at MIT Lincoln Laboratories.
Learn more about the Society of Women Engineers
“Being a student athlete has definitely come with its challenges, but it has prepared me well for whatever the future brings! My favorite part of my experience has been all of the people I met along the way. It is a great feeling being a part of a program that truly cares about my success on and off the field, and that is something I will cherish forever.”

Gabriella Curry '24

Gabriella Curry, chemical engineering major, was named this year’s UMass Amherst Fall Scholar Athlete for her excellence both on the field and in the classroom. She served as captain of UMass Women’s Soccer Team and was selected to the “Atlantic 10 All-Academic Teams” in 2022 and 2023. In addition, she completed an IALS Core Summer Internship in the university’s spectroscopy core facility. She is simultaneously enrolled in an accelerated (4+1) Master’s Program in Business Analytics, which she will complete in December of 2024 while continuing to play soccer for UMass as a graduate student.
Learn more about IALS Core Internships
“There’s something amazing about working with medical devices; the MedTech team enables students to gain valuable project experience while also making a difference in people’s lives.”

Aaryan Chaudhary '24

Aaryan Chaudhary is a biomedical engineering major and member of Commonwealth Honors College. He is also the Founder and President of UMass MedTech, which designs novel medical devices—currently they are developing a cost-effective osteoarthritis boot for home therapy. For his senior design project, he worked with a team of his peers to design a steering wheel cover that has the ability to detect strokes. For his honors thesis, he conducted research in the Human Robot Systems Lab on a novel robotic hip exoskeleton device intended to assist people with walking impairments. He also did a summer internship at Pfizer, and is part of Mass Mirchi, a Bollywood-fusion UMass dance club. After commencement, he began working as a Philips Software Test Engineer in Cambridge, MA.
Learn more about MedTech
“My favorite class has been senior design—I have enjoyed applying the engineering theory I have learned over the past four years of classes to develop a tangible product, based on a real client's need. I spent the year working with a team of five other BME seniors to collaboratively design, prototype, manufacture, and test a mechanical surgical assistive device for research use at the Department of Neurological Surgery at UMass Chan Medical School.”

Jack Muse '24

Jack Muse is a biomedical engineering major with a math minor. He conducted research in the Bailey Lab, where he planned, executed, and managed an independent honors thesis project studying prostate cancer cell line influence on osteoclasts and bone resorption in bone metastasis. He was also a peer mentor in Commonwealth Honors College, a TA for Statics and Dynamics, and a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society. He completed two summer internships, including one as a research intern at the University of Hamburg's Center for Hybrid Nanostructures, in Germany.
Learn more about the Bailey Lab

Ian Goodine & Ethan Walko '21, '22 MS | co-founders of rStream

Hear about their journey from a student project to the launch of their business. 

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Read more stories about the undergraduate experience at the UMass Amherst College of Engineering: