Public Relations Committee

Anuva Borgaonkar is a Junior from the Twin Cities, Minnesota, majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Business Economics. This past summer, Anuva was a Project Management intern at Burns & McDonnell. She worked on major power distribution projects for Xcel Energy. She helped create a Power BI dashboard for financial reporting to help start up the Distribution Project Management Office. Previously, Anuva was a Manufacturing Engineering intern at Medtronic. At Medtronic, she was a part of the Pharmaceutical Operations division and the Surgical Technology portfolio. On the Pharmaceutical Operations side, Anuva created new KPI trackers for daily, weekly, and monthly manufacturing goals. She also led time studies to find and reduce lead times for a campus-wide cost-saving event. She created and updated installation qualifications for two lung catheter lines in the Surgical Technology portfolio. At Purdue, Anuva is an undergraduate researcher at Kenttamaa Labs, a chemistry research lab focused on mass spectrometry. She is also an active member of Delta Delta Delta sorority as the Director of Member Finances, a member of the Women in Mechanical Engineering club, and is an ME290 mentor. In her free time, Anuva enjoys baking, working out, finding new restaurants, and playing Block Blast.

Claire Bowman is a junior from Flower Mound, Texas, studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Economics. This past summer, she interned with Kimley-Horn, a civil engineering consulting firm. She contributed to roadway reconstruction projects and gained hands-on experience in design, site visits, and construction meetings, while developing insight into effective client collaboration in the consulting world. Claire currently serves as the Vice President of Chi Omega, where she oversees all scholarship programming and academic initiatives for the chapter. She is also a member of the Public Relations Committee with Purdue Mechanical Engineering Ambassadors. In her free time, Claire enjoys playing intramural soccer, spikeball, card games (Euchre), and spending time with friends.

Lahari is a senior from South Brunswick, New Jersey studying Mechanical Engineering. Last summer, she interned at SpaceX as an Integration & Test Intern in Hawthorne, CA. Previously she did a 7 month Co-op with Rivian as an Integration Intern and a summer internship with John Deere as a Product Engineering Intern. Lahari is currently involved in PMEA, SWE, and Boiler Bhangra. In her free time, Lahari loves to go to Purdue basketball games, participate in IM sports with her friends, and cook different dishes!

David Coombs - Senior from Valparaiso, IN | Organizational Leadership Minor | PMEA | “All-American” Marching Band |

David is a driven senior studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Organizational Leadership at Purdue. Hailing from Valparaiso, IN, he’s deeply involved in campus life, balancing technical expertise with leadership and performance. As a proud member of Purdue Bands & Orchestras (PBO), he marches with the prestigious Purdue “All-American” Marching Band and lends his talents to Gold & Black Sound, Concert Bands, and Jazz Bands. This past summer, he took up an exciting role as a Equipment Engineer at Honda’s Marysville Auto Plant, where he helped to drive innovation in automotive manufacturing. Prior to that, David took his engineering skills to the next level as an intern at Task Force Tips, a Madison Industries company specializing in cutting-edge firefighting equipment. On top of that, David puts his engineering knowledge to the test by being a member of the URBA Grand Prix team, where he helps design, build, and race a kart for the Purdue Grand Prix. In Race 68, URBA was the winner of the “Tom Burt Memorial Hard Charger Award”. When he’s not immersed in engineering or music, you’ll find David giving tours, strategizing over board games, exploring the outdoors on camping trips, or just kicking back with friends.

Lauryn Unke is a Junior from Eden Prairie, Minnesota majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Management. This past summer, Lauryn was a Project Management Intern at Great River Energy in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The position includes collaborating with internal and external project management teams on both substation and transmission line projects. Additionally, she is included in the Power BI reporting team that is responsible for a company wide initiative to streamline financial, outage, and material reports. At Purdue, Lauryn is a member of Alpha Chi Omega where she is the VP Risk Management and a member of the chapter relations board. In additional free time, Lauryn enjoys volunteering time at the local YWCA domestic abuse center.

Emma Bedwell - Senior from Aurora, IL | John Deere Internship - Quality Engineering - Product Development | Vice President of Personnel and APEX Director for the Purdue Student Engineering Foundation | Head Choreographer for the Higher Ground Dance Company | How Stuff Works Instructor | Mentor for ME290 (Professional Seminar for New ME Students)

Emma Bedwell is a Senior studying mechanical engineering from Aurora, Illinois. During the summer of 2024, Emma interned as a quality engineer at John Deere Harvester Works on the X9 Combine assembly line. This past summer, Emma worked at John Deere Turf care as a product engineer specializing in the design of mechanical and hydraulic systems for golf equipment. Outside of her studies, Emma is Vice President of Personnel and a past director for the APEX committee on the Purdue Student Engineering Foundation. In her current role, Emma leads directors and general personnel to provide support to fulfill all responsibilities. As APEX director, she organized and coordinated an annual event that allowed high school students across the country to explore engineering opportunities. She also gives weekly tours and presentations of Purdue’s College of Engineering to groups of up to 200 prospective students and families. As a member of the Purdue Mechanical Engineering Ambassadors, Emma has served on the outreach and public relations committees while instructing How Stuff Works classes. Additionally, Emma is the head choreographer of the Higher Ground Dance Company, where she gets to spend time with peers and express her creativity through a unique outlet. Aside from dance, Emma enjoys spending time with her friends, trying new coffee shops, golfing, and going to Purdue sporting events.

Avantika is a junior studying Mechanical Engineering from San Jose, California with a minor in Materials Science and Engineering. This past summer, she did a co-op at GE Appliances, a Haier Company, in Louisville, Kentucky. At GEA, she tested and analyzed data for washers using Python to improve out-of-balance algorithms and design specifications for noise and vibration. In PMEA, Avantika is a member of the Public Relations committee working on flyers and posts for the social media accounts. Outside PMEA, Avantika is an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and serves as the Director of Industrial Relations and a Vehicle Performance Lead for the Racing team. She was also a TA of the ASME CAD Milestones program. In EPICS, Avantika was the design lead of the EPICS Speedway Wind Tunnel team where she designed a model wind tunnel that simulates racing aerodynamics and will be displayed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. In her free time, Avantika enjoys Indian classical dance and bollywood, binging new TV shows, baking, sand volleyball, pickleball, video games, and traveling.

Kate Albanese is a senior at Purdue University studying Mechanical Engineering. This summer she finished her second design co-op for Honda at the Automotive Development Center. Over her two terms at Honda, she has expanded her CAD skills through designing a prototype mock-up that successfully confirmed feasibility for a potential new-value product, worked with a fellow co-op to design a test buck mimicking closure designs, and developed department-specific informative guides for future co-ops and new hires. This past semester she was a part of Purdue’s study abroad program in Paris, France, and enhanced her French language skills and intercultural awareness over the semester while studying at ESTACA. In spring 2024 she was a quality control engineer at a Toyota manufacturing plant (TMMI). During her time at Toyota, Kate worked with supplier representatives to ensure changes and procedures for parts were documented and followed to plant standards. At Purdue, in addition to being a Purdue Mechanical Engineering Ambassador, Kate is involved with the Women in Motorsports Council, JMHC Research, Women in Engineering Mentorship Program, Purdue Triathlon Club, and more. In her free time Kate enjoys card games, movies, puzzles, chess, cheering on Purdue volleyball, finding a good cookie recipe, and spending time with friends and family.