NORDTECH Funds Internships to Drive the Next Generation of STEM Talent
“It wasn’t just an internship — it felt like a launchpad.”
NORDTECH is building a robust pipeline of future innovators, scientists, engineers, and technicians who will drive innovation in critical defense technologies. Part of that pipeline is generated from Hub-funded internship programs at NY CREATES, Cornell University’s NanoScale Facility (CNF), the University at Albany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE), Griffiss Institute’s Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and the NORDTECH Summer Internship Program (SIP). This month NORDTECH is highlighting a handful of students participating in Hub-funded summer internships, a subset of our 2025 22-student cohort. Read on to learn more about these students, their summer work, where they are headed next, and what they want to see from semiconductor workforce development.
Prototyping the Future, My Summer at the Summer Internship Program (SIP)
Chaitanya Mishra's presentation sample
My name is Chaitanya Mishra, originally from Indore, India, and currently pursuing a Master’s in Computer Science at Binghamton University, New York. Outside academics, I’ve experience working at IBM, Vodafone, and most recently, through the NORDTECH-funded Summer Internship Program at Griffiss Institute, and I enjoy working on projects where AI can make a real-world impact — particularly in defense, aerospace, and robotics. I'm also an active footballer and hold leadership roles in student organizations on campus.
Through the Summer Internship Program (SIP), I contributed to critical AI research prototypes at Griffiss Institute, funded by NORDTECH. Over these past weeks, I've had the chance to dive deep into advanced AI and machine learning applications, working with cutting-edge generative models and computer vision techniques, using tools and workflows that pushed me to think differently about synthetic data generation, model optimization, and industrial applications.
What truly set SIP apart was the freedom to lead your own ideas, the trust placed in interns, and the unmatched mentorship that backed us at every step. It wasn’t just an internship — it felt like a launchpad. I walked in with ideas and walked out with working systems, real skills, and a clearer sense of direction. I’m now exploring opportunities at the intersection of AI, robotics, cloud, and DevOps, especially in domains like aerospace logistics and intelligent automation. Programs like SIP are exactly what the next generation of engineers and scientists need — hands-on, mission-driven, and built around solving problems that matter.
DoD-based Design Experience
Griffiss Institute’s internship program, developed in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate in Rome, New York, offers students unparalleled opportunities to work on defense-related projects that push the boundaries of technology. The partnership between NORDTECH, Griffiss Institute, and AFRL/RI is more than just an internship program—it is a mentorship-driven experience allowing students to work closely with top defense scientists.
We are pleased to highlight a standout student, Victoria Gammenthaler, a Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Engineering major at University of Texas at Dallas. During her internship, she collaborated with AFRL researcher Dr. Laurent Njilla, utilizing her Electronic Design Automation skills to support the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate whose mission encompasses research in command and control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and cyber security. Her exceptional contributions led to being awarded a DoD SMART Scholarship as well as publication in an IEEE conference.
Victora Gammenthaler's Presenation Sample
Semiconductor Career Exploration
Materials scientists explore fundamental qualities of the materials used in next-gen technologies. That is why those pursuing this area of study, including one materials scientist who participated in the University at Albany College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering’s (CNSE) Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), are able to thrive when provided access to facilities such as CNSE’s Innovation Lab, a 200mm wafer scale cleanroom located at the NY CREATES Albany NanoTech Complex.
Colton Seymour's Poster Session
My name is Colton Seymour, and I am from Dolgeville, New York. I am a junior at UAlbany majoring in chemistry and minoring in math and physics. I enjoy being outdoors, doing things like hiking or biking. One thing I like about the SURP program is being able to learn from experienced professors and grad students that hold me to high expectations. The program provides me with crucial industry relevant experience that will be valuable in my academic career and after, which is what I look for in internships. It also makes my life easier financially as a student because the internship is paid. If I had to wish for anything, it would be that the program was longer. This experience has also helped me solidify the idea of what I want to do in my career, and during this internship I have developed a specific interest in boron compounds.
In the future, I plan to go to grad school for a Ph.D. in chemistry and get a job in the realm of materials science. I want to always advance my knowledge in physics and chemistry. From industry, I look for people and companies that would be dedicated to advancing my knowledge and training me in certain areas. I think that increasing funding in general to research would benefit people like me to learn more and have more opportunities to advance.
Building Resilience and Fabrication Facility Knowhow
Finally, we would like to introduce you to a curious and hard-working Cornell NanoScale Facility (CNF) summer student who has worked closely with a CNF staff mentor to develop and document baseline processes for the newly installed NORDTECH tools:
I’m Nikolas Wheeler, a rising second-year Mechanical and Electrical Engineering student at Rochester Institute of Technology. I am from Ovid, NY, where I graduated from South Seneca High School, competed in track and field, and co-founded South Seneca Sources of Strength. Growing up in a small rural community, I became enthusiastic about engineering cleaner, more affordable, and effective energy solutions for low-income families like my own. That enthusiasm led me to New Visions Engineering at Cornell, where I toured over forty engineering facilities and completed hands-on projects all before graduating from high school. Outside of my growing career, I enjoy conversing about philosophy, performing music locally with friends, and building electric vehicles with RIT’s EV Team.
This summer, I am interning at the Cornell NanoScale Facility (CNF), where I gained firsthand experience with advanced cleanroom tools, including quantum material deposition systems, profilometers, and atomic force microscopes. When I applied for this opportunity, I wanted to experience a cutting-edge atmosphere. Thankfully, the tools and the CNF staff who operate them have created an academically challenging environment, while retaining that innovative experience. Something I have found difficult is that tools can take numerous hours to use and can break. This, however, allows users to develop an intuition for the mechanics of their tools and system optimization, complementing their efficiency and value as a member of the workforce. While I often found myself overwhelmed by the vast number of things I may not understand now, staying curious and breaking down complex processes into manageable steps helped me build confidence. Through this experience, I have come to appreciate that using a cleanroom is not only about using advanced tools, it is also about developing intuition, patience, and a forward-thinking mindset.
As the end of the summer approaches, I intend to apply the skills I have learned from this experience to future opportunities within and beyond nanotechnology. Learning to adapt, optimize, and learn efficiently will significantly support my endeavor to earn a professional engineering license and make an impact on our world. While I am unsure exactly where my career will lead, I know that the exposure and experience I had at CNF will enable me to navigate any obstacles to be able to learn, develop personally, and grow my career. Thank you to the CNF, the staff, their resources, and NORDTECH for the funding that enables students to realize their ambitions.
Stay tuned for more student workforce development updates.
Authors: Chaitanya Mishra (Binghamton University), Victoria Gammenthaler (University of Texas at Dallas), Colton Seymour (University at Albany), Nikolas Wheeler (Rochester Institute of Technology), Darrilyn Di Nardo (NORDTECH Workforce Development Coordinator), and Michelle Downes (NORDTECH PMO)