February 25, 2016  

Purdue Polytechnic students earn national program honors

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —Two Purdue University students have been named University Innovation Fellows by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation.

Vignesha Bhamidi of Chennai, India, and Dominick Lee, from the San Francisco Bay area, recently completed training to join the national program run by Epicenter. They are among 155 students from 47 educational institutions to achieve the honor.

Both Lee and Bhamidi are students in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. Lee is a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering technology, while Bhamidi is an electrical engineering technology graduate student.

Bhamidi’s current interests are biomechatronics, consumer electronics and connected health. Lee spent years designing and working with wearables, Internet of Things devices, robotics and mechatronics. Both are launching the BoilerDriver Initiative to help connect student innovators across different departments and clubs to publicize ideas throughout the university and on a global scale.

Through the national program, students advocate change on campus. They work to design innovation spaces, start entrepreneurship organizations, host experiential learning events and work with faculty to develop new courses.

University Innovation Fellows are supported by faculty or administrators. Bhamidi and Lee were supported by Lonnie Bentley, a Purdue professor of computer and information technology, and Matt McKillip, director of research and innovation for Purdue Polytechnic Statewide.

Epicenter is funded by the National Science Foundation and directed by Stanford University and VentureWell. 

Writer: Brian L. Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu 

Source: Steve Lincoln, 765-494-9201, slincoln@purdue.edu 

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