Summer Research Program

185

interns from top universities contributed to real-world projects in 2025.

Two researchers huddle over an underwater uncrewed vehicle, making adjustments to it, on a dock over a lake.
"They really believe in me as an engineer," intern Ivy Mahncke says of her technical group at Lincoln Laboratory. A sophomore at Olin College, Mahncke wrote and field tested software for use on an underwater autonomous vehicle.

Career Navigation

A group of seven staff members sit on chairs on a stage while sharing in a panel discussion.
At a panel discussion on August 26, Laboratory staff members share advice for their early-career colleagues.

Lincoln Laboratory established the Career Navigation Network, or CareerNav (formerly called Recent College Graduates), employee resource group to support early-career professionals and to help employees during periods of career transition, development, and exploration. From August 25 to September 5, CareerNav hosted its annual Professional Development Series, featuring panel discussions providing early-career and leadership advice, courses on relationship building and communication, and workshops on goal setting and performance improvement. CareerNav aims to offer resources and guidance to employees who wish to connect with other jobs and missions within the Laboratory, allowing them to shape their careers and derive greater fulfillment from their work.

Cultivating Leadership, Achievement, and Success Symposium

A presenter stands on a stage in front of a projector screen.
Kanwar Singh delivers the closing speech at the CLAS symposium.

Cultivating Leadership, Achievement, and Success (CLAS) is an annual Laboratory-wide symposium that focuses on promoting employees' leadership, growth, personal and professional development, and success through courses, panel discussions, and keynote speeches. The event also recognizes employees who have positively impacted the Laboratory's culture. The theme for this year's symposium, held March 11 to 13, was "Resilience through Change." To open the CLAS symposium, telescope specialist Erika Hamden, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Arizona and the director of the University of Arizona Space Institute, discussed resiliency in overcoming setbacks while developing technology. Kanwar Singh, the chief executive officer of Skyline Nav AI, closed out the symposium with a speech about exercising courage to persist through failures and rejections.

Community Building

Each year, a Martin Luther King Jr. event honors King's legacy and reaffirms the values the Laboratory shares with King, including collaboration and respect for one another. The year's theme, "Bridging Divides, Building Communities," encapsulated the idea that communities are strongest when their members connect and find common ground. During the event, guest speakers discussed the relationship between storytelling and science and how media such as books and films can foster audiences' interest in STEM. The discussion highlighted the necessity of explaining scientific concepts at different levels and through different mediums to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to pursue their passions. 

Resilient Leadership

A presenter stands in front of a room with a screen.
Paraag Maddiwar presents tips for resilient leadership at the Laboratory's annual AANHPI Heritage Month luncheon.

In May, guest speaker Paraag Maddiwar, former director of professional programs for the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers, delivered a keynote speech for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. The heritage month's theme, "A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience," honored AANHPI leaders and the groundwork they laid for their successors. Drawing from his own experiences, Maddiwar offered strategies for becoming a better leader, emphasizing adapting to change, taking risks, tailoring communication to the environment, and voicing one's thoughts in meetings to signal to others they are listening.