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The Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) Program has announced that MIT Lincoln Laboratory, a federally funded research center that builds advanced technology, has joined the iCons Industry Consortium. The partnership, which began in spring 2025, connects Lincoln Laboratory with the 14-year-old consortium that brings top-notch student talent from UMass Amherst to its members.

“Our partnership has culminated in great internship opportunities for iCons students,” said Kat Buckingham, assistant director of development for iCons. “These kinds of experiences help prepare the next generation of leaders while deepening iCons and UMass Amherst’s impact across Massachusetts and beyond.”

iCons values bringing real world issues into classrooms and allows students to learn in ways that are applicable to their future careers. MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s decision to join the industry consortium reflects that mission, and has provided iCons senior Katie Schouten with an opportunity for a dream summer internship.

“I got such great work experience over the summer, and it has brought so much clarity to my future as a post grad that no research opportunity on campus could have done,” Schouten says. 

This collaboration was made possible with help from UMass alumnus Christopher Serino, a physics alumnus now working on autonomous systems at MIT Lincoln Labs. He is currently working with faculty who teach in iCons’ new AI track by bringing in current drone and AI problems, advising faculty, and serving as an industry connection between the lab and UMass students. He presented in one of Schouten's classes, which inspired her to apply to the internship.

“As a UMass alum, it’s especially rewarding to help create opportunities for students to work on the kinds problems they’ll encounter after graduation,” Serino explains. “iCons gives students the chance to apply what they’re learning in the classroom to real life situations, while also giving us at Lincoln Laboratory the opportunity to connect with incredibly talented students.”

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Schouten was honored to have been selected for the internship, explaining that it is different from most opportunities she has previously received as a physics major. In physics, there is often a divide between the technological industry and academic research -- a gap that iCons and Lincoln Labs are both working to bridge. 

“MIT Lincoln Labs is literally the best blend you could get of the two. It's an industry job that does research,” said Schouten. “It was the most ideal internship for me to have this summer because I was kind of unsure about the split. I felt so lucky to be there.” 

Through iCons, Schouten gained experience conducting research, developing solutions to real-world problems, and presenting her work clearly. Those skills translated directly to her internship at Lincoln Labs, including in a Shark Tank style competition that challenged them to develop and present innovative ideas. Schouten placed first overall and won best poster.

In addition to her research on autonomous drone systems, Shouten and another UMass undergraduate, Nino Roshi, developed an idea while at MIT for a smart water filtration system with a built-in sensor that reads water quality coming into homes. She explained that most water quality is tested at the source, where water is stored, and only about once a year. Almost all the serious contamination happens in the pipes as water travels from the storage tank to people’s homes. She personally went to local towns where she used a water testing kit and compared it to public data, her results proving that most people are unaware of the quality—or lack thereof—of water in their homes.

“Working with MIT-Lincoln Labs as a new partner to iCons is critical for bringing a range of compelling real-world problems to our students,” says Scott Auerbach, executive director of iCons. “From AI to robotics to remote sensing to detecting biohazards - MIT-Lincoln Labs works on a broad range of problems that bring powerful opportunities to iCons students.”

For Schouten, the experience provided valuable insight into what she hopes to pursue after graduation. 

As the iCons-MIT partnership grows through the Industry Consortium, it will continue to strengthen the connection between the classroom and the research community while creating meaningful opportunities for both iCons students and MIT Lincoln Laboratory.