Professional Development Scholarship Testimonials

Hear what previous winners had to say about the EGSC PDS:

“The PDS provided financial support that made it possible for me to attend the NYBCI symposium. The symposium brought together a diverse set of expertise — people from industry, clinical medicine, regulatory affairs, and even patients themselves. That support opened doors to conversations that simply don't happen at typical engineering conferences. PDS is a valuable program and I'd encourage any PhD student looking to go beyond the lab and engage with the broader professional world to apply for PDS.” – Yatin Gilhotra, Fall 2025 winner

“I was able to volunteer at an IEEE conference and expand my connections to people in energy policy and government roles. I want to use my education to advise Congress on energy policy and encourage more research funding for electrical engineering. The conference was super insightful as it was my first experience in a policy-related field with people who work for government, industry, non-profits, and in energy regulation or oversight positions. I would not have been able to attend this conference without the PDS because it is not a conference that I could publish my technical, non-policy-focused research at.” – Elliott Fix, Spring 2025 winner

“I am very grateful to have received the PDS scholarship last Spring semester as it allowed me to attend and present at a major computational mechanics conference (USNCCM). In presenting, I received excellent feedback from computational method field leaders on the course of my thesis research, I then networked with these same professionals and new collaborations were formed to advance the field of computational biomechanics.” – Hannah Haider, Spring 2025 winner

“The Professional Development Scholarship played a meaningful role in supporting my academic growth by enabling me to present my research at the INFORMS Annual Meeting 2025. Presenting at a leading international conference helped me refine my research communication skills, engage with scholars in operations research and analytics, and gain valuable feedback that strengthened my ongoing work. The experience reinforced my aspiration to pursue a PhD and contribute to rigorous, impactful research. I would encourage future applicants to use this opportunity to actively engage with academic and professional communities, as it can open doors to collaborations, mentorship, and long-term research direction.” – Om Agarwal, Fall 2025 winner

“PDS has been very significant to my research, and I am very happy to have the opportunity to share some of my thoughts. I was awarded the scholarship last semester to attend a highly esteemed conference in Los Angeles, where I presented my work on Dynamic Cerebral Autoregulation, an opportunity I would have otherwise missed. Beyond the presentation itself, this conference allowed me to receive valuable feedback on a new application of the framework I have developed. More importantly, it gave me the chance to meet professors whose insights during our discussions helped me identify a novel research direction, one that was not directly related to my presentation but may become an important part of my future work. All in all, PDS has been a great opportunity, and I would strongly encourage future applicants to go the extra mile in crafting the best possible application and maximizing their chances for this unique experience.” – Leonidas Taliadouros, Spring 2025 winner