2024 – 2025 PhD Student Scholar Awardees

2024 – 2025 Awardees

Chae Woo Lim, CV

Advisor: Sheila Russo

Chae Woo Lim is a first-year Mechanical Engineering PhD student in the Material Robotics Lab, advised by Dr. Sheila Russo. His current research focuses on developing novel manufacturing processes, hardware, and controls to create soft medical robots that can enhance the safety and accessibility of medical interventions. Prior to his doctoral studies, Chae Woo earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Onur Okuducu, CV
Advisor: Venkatesh Saligrama

Onur Okuducu is a first-year PhD student in Systems Engineering, advised by Dr. Venkatesh Saligrama. His research focuses on knowledge distillation, computer vision, and AI training optimization. Before his doctoral studies, Onur earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU).

Qian Wu, CV
Advisor: Sean Andersson

Qian Wu is a first-year Mechanical Engineering PhD student in the Robotics Lab, advised by Dr. Sean Andersson. His current research focuses on tracking algorithms and mathematical control theories for different source types. Before his doctoral studies, Qian Wu earned his Bachelor’s in Physics at UC Los Angeles, and his Master of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley.

Umran Yungucu, CV
Advisor: Ajay Joshi

Umran Yungucu received her B.S. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering with a double major in Physics from the Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey, in 2024 . She is currently a Ph.D. student at the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA. Her research interests include High Performance Computing (HPC) for scientific applications and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE).