Purdue Engineering names 11 Dean's Leadership Scholars

The Dean's Leadership Scholars, established in 2019, added 11 undergraduate students to its 2023-24 cohort.
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Dean's Leadership Scholars

Within Purdue University’s College of Engineering, the Dean's Leadership Scholars is a noteworthy initiative that recognizes and nurtures the talents of a group of undergraduate students. Established in 2019, the program selects students based on academic and leadership accomplishments to serve in an external advisory role to the dean. This year, 11 new students were selected for the 2023-2024 cohort, joining five existing scholars.

“The Dean's Leadership Scholars brings together some of our brightest undergraduate engineering student leaders to help shape our strategic priorities and goals,” said Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering. “I am thrilled to collaborate with these scholars and confident that their insights will be instrumental in driving forward the college's initiatives and making a substantial impact in the broader engineering community."

The role of a Dean's Leadership Scholar extends beyond the traditional boundaries of a student. Meeting two to four times annually with the dean, the scholars serve as a high-level sounding board, offering critical insights and feedback on various college initiatives, including the dean’s Vision 2030, Purdue Engineering’s strategic plan to make Purdue the most consequential engineering college in the nation. Additionally, students have the unique opportunity to interact with the Engineering Advisory Council and meet distinguished alumni and industry leaders.

The five existing scholars are Audrey Darland, Zachary Georgevich and Sajon Seaberg, all seniors studying mechanical engineering; Ariana Scott, a chemical engineering senior; and Evan Rittner, a senior in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. In November 2023, the program selected the newest cohort of Dean’s Leadership Scholars:

Bobby Albertson

Bobby Albertson

Senior, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

Albertson is a Purdue Engineering Student Council member, serving on the engineering outreach, EXPO 2022, communications, and internal development committees, where he helped support student initiatives for well-being and organized the annual Industrial Roundtable career fair. He’s a member of the Mortar Board Honors Society, Barbara Cook Chapter. He also served as a College of Engineering ambassador and was elected to an advisory council for the dean of student life, where he works with administrators to better the student experience.

Albertson is an undergraduate researcher at Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories, focusing on rotating detonation engines. Additionally, he was a propulsion engineering intern at SpaceX and a systems engineering intern for Lockheed Martin Space.

Aditya Arjun Anibha

Aditya Anibha

Junior, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

As co-president of the Purdue Space Program, Anibha manages 500 members, a 30-person executive team and has introduced transformative changes to the program, including initiating project teams to foster innovative space research and pioneering a new expert lecture series. Anibha is currently an undergraduate researcher focusing on autonomous asteroid Simultaneous Localization and Mapping and was a student researcher for the Space & Earth Analogs Research Chapter of the Purdue Mars Habitat Project. For two semesters, he was the coordination lead for Purdue VIP Lunabotics, where he helped reform the curriculum, led training and spearheaded innovative design directions.

In 2022, Anibha was named a Purdue Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow and a First Time Researcher Fellow. Apart from his roles at Purdue, Anibha also served as a GNC Engineering intern at Axiom Research Labs in Bangalore, India.

Rithika Athreya

Rithika Athreya

Senior, Chemical Engineering

Athreya is the president of the Purdue chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and previously held the role of external vice president. Additionally, she is the undergraduate chemical engineering student representative for the ChE Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and the ChE Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Athreya is a teaching assistant for the Office of Professional Practice and a College of Engineering ambassador. She also serves on the corporate sponsorship committee for the Purdue Engineering Presidents Council. Athreya is a 2023 Purdue Engineering Fellow and member of the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society and Omega Chi Epsilon, Chemical Engineering Honor Society.

Beyond her roles at Purdue, Athreya was the research and innovation intern at L’Oréal USA and participated in a beauty research and development co-op at Procter and Gamble.

Amareah Bead

Amareah Bead

Sophomore, Civil Engineering

As the programs chair for the Purdue Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, Bead leads a five-person committee responsible for coordinating specific organization-wide initiatives. She is a civil engineering ambassador and a Purdue Student Engineering Foundation member, serving on the EXPO committee where she helps introduce prospective Purdue students to engineering through interactive programming. In addition to her leadership experiences at Purdue, she was an HNTB engineering intern.

Bead is a Purdue Kiewit Scholar, Presidential Scholar and a John Martinson Honors College student. Additionally, she is a member of the Purdue Society of Women Engineers, Avanzando Through College Program and Minority Engineering Program.

Erin Blasingame

Erin

Sophomore, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

During her first semester at Purdue, Blasingame was selected as a project manager for the PLAY team in EPICS. Since then, she has served as project manager for three semesters, helping sub-teams progress and resolve any issues. In 2023, Blasingame’s EPICS sub-team won first place in Purdue's Service Learning and Engagement Summit Poster presentation competition.

Blasingame is currently a resident assistant for the Women in Engineering residential program, planning 14 weekly events throughout the semester to facilitate growth and wellness within her community. Outside Purdue, she worked as a lab conceptual simulation intern at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Ronith Dasari

Ronith Dasari

Junior, Biomedical Engineering

Dasari is the mechanical lead for the Purdue American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Prosthetics Design team. He manages a team of more than 40 students working to develop a partial hand prosthetic for a chef in Italy. Under his leadership, the team was able to develop its first viable prototype in three years. Additionally, he served as the social media lead for all five ASME social media accounts. Dasari is the professional internal committee head for Alpha Kappa Psi - Pi Omega Chapter, hosting professional development workshops for over 50 brothers throughout the semester. He’s also the co-project manager of the EPICS BME team and mechanical lead for the Aesthetic Myoelectric Prosthetic Project.

Dasari is a Goss Scholar and enrolled in the John Martinson Honors College. He is currently a student researcher at the Qazi Laboratory for Biomaterials and Musculoskeletal Regeneration. Beyond his roles at Purdue, he worked as a student researcher at the Engelke Cellular Organization Lab at Illinois State in Normal, Illinois.

Lucas Ford

Lucas Ford

Junior, Mechanical Engineering

Ford has taken on leadership roles in several student organizations, including the host coordinator co-chair for the Central Committee for Rising Professionals, director of administration for the Interfraternity Council, technical project manager for EPICS, external executive board member and design engineer for ASME, team leader for Boiler Gold Rush, consultant for Purdue THINK, mentor for ME 290 and project lead for Purdue Engineering Outreach. Ford was also invited to serve as a member of the Purdue Student Life Student Advisory Board by Vice Provost of Student Life Beth McCuskey, where he provides insight and perspectives on decisions that affect different student populations at Purdue.

He is also a recipient of the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation Scholarship given to exemplary STEM students by the Department of Defense. Outside his roles at Purdue, Ford was a mechanical design and integration engineer for Northrop Grumman.

Maitri Pandya

Maitri Pandya

Junior, Mechanical Engineering

Pandya is the co-founder and co-president of the new Women in Mechanical Engineering student organization. Under her leadership, the organization reached nearly 200 members within 10 months of its founding. She’s also the outreach committee co-chair for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), helping host meetings and support outreach, including starting a new Pen Pal Program with local students.

Pandya is a Goss Scholar and enrolled in the John Martinson Honors College. She has participated as a mentor and mentee in multiple programs, including Goss Scholar mentors, ME290 mentors and SWE Semester Pals, where she helps younger students navigate their college careers. Additionally, Pandya has had internships at Belden Inc. and at Central States Manufacturing Inc.

Ben Pekarek

Ben Pekarek

Senior, Electrical Engineering

Pekarek is president of the Purdue Engineering Student Council, fostering a supportive culture for 40 members, advocating for the student body in the president’s and dean’s office and promoting student work to corporate leadership and donors. He is co-leader of the Purdue Engineering Presidents’ Council, where he promoted inter-organizational collaboration and distributed funding to lesser-known student initiatives on campus. He also served as director of the Industrial Roundtable, in which he led a team of seven students to operate the nation’s largest student-run career fair and serves on the Engineering Advisory Council.

Pekarek is an Engineering Fellow and the Robert and Marjorie Begeman Scholar and National Merit Scholar. He was a student researcher for wireless charging of in-motion vehicles at Purdue and served two internships at John Deere, including an electric drives intern and an embedded software intern.

Olanrewaju Sodunke

Olanrewaju Sodunke

Junior, Mechanical Engineering

Sodunke is the student diversity officer at John Martinson Honors College, where he’s helped proactively advance diversity initiatives by conducting research and hosting workshops related to diversity and inclusion that foster a more inclusive campus environment. He serves on the First-Generation Student Advisory Board at the College of Engineering, providing guidance and support to first-generation students. As a tutor and volunteer for the Minority Engineering Program, Olanrewaju organizes information sessions for incoming first-year students in the Promise Program and serves as an Ab7G math mentor to seventh-grade students.

Sodunke is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, African Student Association, Alpha Lambda Delta, Black Student Union and American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is an undergraduate student researcher for Purdue VIP and also served two internships at General Electric Healthcare, including a mechanical engineering intern and an Edison Engineering Development Program hardware intern.

Kaltra Woltz

Kaltra Woltz

Sophomore, Civil Engineering

Woltz was the Copper House liaison for the Honors House and Scholar Liaison program through the John Martinson Honors College, where she planned both large and small-scale events. She also served as the team leader for Boiler Gold Rush, where she helped incoming students acclimate to campus and provided a supportive, welcoming environment. Woltz currently resides on the Junior Board of the Purdue Grand Prix Foundation, working directly under the internal vice president.

Woltz is also a peer mentor for the Goss Scholars and Honors Engineering Program. Additionally, she is a research assistant for Sustainable Transportation Systems Research, assisting with work related to EV charging. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Women in Engineering Program and Purdue Society of Women Engineers.