Amareah Bead, Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering

Bead, from Davidsonville, Maryland, has been involved in the founding chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, serving as programs chair, vice president and, currently, president. She also is a member of the Purdue Student Engineering Foundation, where she led the outreach event, APEX, bringing over 100 local high school students to campus to learn about engineering. She also is a Kiewit Scholar, a Dean’s Leadership Scholar, a member of Mortar Board and a civil engineering ambassador.

After graduation, Bead plans to spend a fourth summer with HNTB as a structural engineering intern and return to Purdue for her master's in civil engineering.

Elizabeth Bradshaw, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Bradshaw, from Fairfax, Virginia, currently serves as the co-president of Purdue Space Program (PSP), one of the largest engineering student organizations at Purdue with over 500 members. PSP includes 10 technical teams dedicated to designing, building, testing and launching rockets and satellites. Bradshaw previously served as technical director of PSP and has been active in the organization throughout her time at Purdue.

In addition to her campus involvements, Bradshaw is committed to ensuring that more women can pursue and excel in space-related career paths. She is the author of “Your Place in Space: A Career Guide for Girls” and has developed curriculum and led events to build girls’ confidence in their STEM abilities and awareness of space-related career options. Bradshaw continued this work with programs for local K-12 students leading up to the April 2024 solar eclipse.

Outside of Purdue, Bradshaw has excelled in internships at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Iridium Communications, Inc., SpaceX and the Aerospace Corporation.

Following graduation, she plans to stay at Purdue to pursue a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics with a concentration in professional leadership through the 4+1 BSAAE/MSAA program.

David Estrella, School of Materials Engineering

Most of Estrella’s achievements stem from his undergraduate research with professor Edwin García and Garcia’s computational materials research group. Estrella, a native of Tampico, Mexico, has participated in projects with research institutions and agencies such as the Office of Naval Research, Idaho National Laboratories and industry partners. He has had the opportunity to travel to different cities in and out of the country to present scientific work at the Materials Science & Technology Conference, Gordon Research Conference, Doster Leadership Conference and the Tec Science Summit, with an upcoming talk at Electrochemical Society meeting in Chicago later this year.

In Estrella’s first semester at Purdue, he received a First-Time Researcher Fellowship that launched a research career. The following year, he earned a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and both experiences culminated in presentations at Purdue’s research conferences. His passion for research has set him on a path to pursue a doctoral degree after completing his bachelor's degree.

Emma Kessinger, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department

Kessinger's activities at Purdue include serving as the current president of the Purdue Engineering Student Council, co-facilitator of the Purdue Engineering Presidents' Council, College of Engineering ambassadors, Agricultural and Biological Engineering ambassadors and Mortar Board Senior Honor Society.

The Plainfield, Indiana native is studying biological engineering with a concentration in cellular and biomolecular engineering and a minor in biotechnology. In the past, Kessinger has served as the 2024 EXPO Career Fair director and has participated in planning the Industrial Roundtable Career Fair. She has also been an undergraduate researcher in professor Kurt Ristroph's lab within the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department for two years studying nanoparticle encapsulation for drug delivery systems. Kessinger completed two summer research and development internships with Eli Lilly & Company in drug discovery and drug development. She also had a research internship at IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she co-authored a published research paper.

In her free time, she likes to play intramural sports at Purdue, watch NCAA volleyball and spend time with friends. Post-grad, Kessinger hopes to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Tanmaee Ledalla, School of Mechanical Engineering

While consistently placing on the Dean’s List each semester, Ledalla also has conducted three undergrad research projects in autonomous racing, lithium batteries and vapor compressors. A native of Hyderabad, India, Ledalla founded the Women in Motorsports Council and serves as its co-president. After serving as project director for the Purdue chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering’s Racing team last year, she is now the ASME internal vice president. She won the Outstanding ME Junior Award and serves on the ME community and belonging taskforce where she organizes monthly events to celebrate various cultures.

Upon graduation, Ledalla aims to pursue a master’s degree and PhD in mechanical design and control systems.

Sofia Velarde, School of Mechanical Engineering

Throughout Velarde’s four years at Purdue, she has been deeply involved in Purdue Lunabotics, most recently serving as president. In this role, she led a team of more than 100 students in designing, fabricating and programming an autonomous lunar excavation robot for NASA’s annual competition in Florida. Under her leadership, the team earned first place in Autonomy out of 40-plus universities nationwide and third place in the UCF qualifiers, along with top awards in systems engineering and technical presentations.

Beyond Lunabotics, the San Diego native has gained extensive hands-on engineering experience through multiple internships and research roles. At Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, she prototyped lunar tires for NASA’s Artemis mission in partnership with Lockheed Martin, General Motors and Lunar Outpost. She later contributed to Purdue’s NASA Resilient Extra-Terrestrial Habitat Institute as an undergraduate researcher, where she developed MATLAB simulations to model and develop lunar habitat infrastructure. Most recently, she interned at Solar Turbines as a test engineering intern, supporting turbine validation for next-generation applications in AI data centers and global power generation.

At Purdue, Velarde also serves as a mechanical engineering ambassador, giving tours since sophomore year to prospective students and families from across the country. Looking ahead, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and earn her private pilot’s license. After graduation, she will begin her career as a test engineer at Solar Turbines.

Meg Wentz, School of Engineering Education

Wentz, from Cornelius, North Carolina, is the first fellow majoring in multidisciplinary engineering. She currently serves as president of the Purdue section of the Society of Women Engineers, leading one of the largest student organizations on campus. In this role, she has spearheaded new initiatives in technical projects, outreach, professional development and community building, while working to expand opportunities for members and strengthen partnerships with industry.

Previously, Wentz gained hands-on experience as a test and integration engineering intern at L3Harris Technologies, where she focused on satellite hardware testing and integration. After graduation, Wentz plans to pursue a master’s degree in space engineering at Purdue before beginning a career in aerospace test and integration.