Spotlight Stories
Jun 01, 2026
Grit, Science, and Good Hands
Victus Kordorwu, PhD’26, chemical engineering, is a graduate researcher at the Advanced Drug Delivery Research and Lustig Lab at Northeastern. Driven by grit and a belief in science as a force for human good, he hopes to bridge academic research and industry experience to make an impact in the biopharmaceutical field—in the United States, Ghana, and beyond.
Jun 01, 2026
One Degree Further: How Katherine Growney Is Preparing to Make an Impact
Katherine Growney, E/MS’26, mechanical engineering, completed three co-ops during her time at Northeastern. Through the Plus One program, she enters the workforce with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree, industry experience across multiple fields, and a drive to build technology that makes a difference in people’s lives.
May 19, 2026
Engineering a Greener Future, One Protein at a Time
JiaJia Fu, E’26, is a bioengineering student whose research spans modeling the HIV glycan shield at Northeastern’s SymBioSys Lab to engineering plastic-degrading enzymes as a research co-op at the Harvard Wyss Institute. After graduation, she plans to pursue a PhD at the intersection of sustainability and biotechnology, bringing a rare blend of computational and wet lab expertise—and a deep conviction that bioengineering can help solve the planet’s most pressing ecological problems.
May 18, 2026
Trust the Process: How Juliana Castro Turned Uncertainty into Direction
Juliana Castro, BS’26, industrial engineering, completed three co-ops during her time at Northeastern. With a background in engineering and passion for making complex systems more accessible, she hopes to one day launch her own venture—built on the experience, perspective, and drive she developed along the way.
May 18, 2026
Built for the Outdoors: How Aidan Kane Found His Direction
Aidan Kane, E’26, graduated this spring with a degree in chemical engineering. During his time at Northeastern, he gained extensive co-op experience and served as Project Lead for an initiative at the Sherman Center.
May 12, 2026
The Family Blueprint: Three Siblings’ Journeys with Mechanical Engineering
Carly, E’18, Kevin, E’21, and Kayla Parlato, E’26, have all graduated from Northeastern with mechanical engineering degrees. Inspired by their engineering father, they were all drawn to the same discipline, yet carved their own paths using the opportunities and resources Northeastern provided.
May 07, 2026
Paying It Forward: Four Northeastern Engineers on Service, Purpose, and Giving Back
Four Northeastern engineering students — Clare Chi, Hebat Elkacemi, Jimmy Cheung, and Mia Filardi—were selected this year as Patrick P. Lee Scholarship recipients, chosen not for accolades alone but for their commitment to bringing others along with them. From teaching robotics to Boston schoolchildren to leading civic engagement programs and organizing voter registration drives, each has found a distinct way to turn their education outward. Their stories reflect a simple but demanding idea: that what you receive, you owe to others.
May 05, 2026
Free and Fair Internet Access for All
Ali Saeizadeh, PhD’27, is a graduate research assistant in electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern’s Institute of Intelligent Networked Systems, where he builds “digital twin” simulations of 5G and 6G telecommunications networks. His work aims at something ambitious: making free and fair internet access a reality for people around the world. Before completing his degree, he plans to intern at Apple and a smaller tech firm to compare perspectives across an industry he hopes to shape.