The Bakar Fellows Program is proud to welcome the newest cohort of undergraduate Ignite Scholars for Summer 2025! These talented students are embarking on a unique journey, working alongside Bakar Faculty and Innovation Fellows to gain hands-on experience at the forefront of translational research.
Designed to empower second-, third-, and fourth-year UC Berkeley undergraduates, the Bakar Ignite Scholars Program offers more than just lab experience. It provides essential mentorship, financial support, and a direct path into careers in STEM, from medicine and academia to biotech innovation.
Each semester, a new group of Ignite Scholars joins this growing community, gaining the tools, confidence, and connections to shape the future of science and technology. As they collaborate on groundbreaking projects, these students are building skills that will serve them far beyond the classroom.
Scroll down to meet the nine new scholars and explore how they’re contributing to the world-class research happening at UC Berkeley.
Jordi Tedja – Kante Lab
Self-consistent electro-optical simulations for semiconductor lasers
Jordi will support the Kante lab by modeling novel lasers using self-consistent electro-optical simulations.
Braelyn Carroll – Gu Lab
Computational design and optimization of bioinspired systems
Braelyn will develop computational tools and algorithms to study biological systems.
Megan Tandean – Landry Lab
Engineering biomolecule delivery tools for plant gene editing or reprogramming
Megan is working on delivering biomolecules (mainly proteins) into plant cells in order to improve plant gene-editing, increase regeneration frequencies of plants from tissue culture, or reprogram plants to be more resilient against abiotic/biotic stress.
Carson Greer – Mi Lab
Development of optical nanosensor for detection of heavy metals in drinking water
Carson will help develop an accessible and affordable tool to detect heavy metals in drinking water using fluorescent nanoparticles. The project sits at the intersection of water chemistry, materials science, and environmental engineering.
Anthony Miceli – Javey Lab
Multiplexed gas sensing for human health
Anthony will help develop gas sensor arrays for sensing changes in human skin gaseous emissions. He will fabricate, characterize, and test these sensors in the lab and then use basic machine learning algorithms to perform object classification.
Divya Krishnan – Javey Lab
Multiplexed gas sensing for human health
Along with Anthony, Divya will help to develop gas sensor arrays for sensing changes in human skin gaseous emissions.
Kristine Sun – Keasling Lab
PKS based flavor lactone production
Kristine will assist in designing a polyketide synthase (PKS) for the de novo synthesis of a lactone.
Aarthi Venkatraman – Fearing Lab
Soft Pouch Robots for Minimally Invasive Surgeries and Beyond
As a collaboration between UC Berkeley EECS and UCSF Neurosurgery, Aarthi will help develop a soft, deformable robot capable of visualizing and freely navigating complex anatomical environments while creating a working tool channel that minimally disturbs surrounding tissues. This device has the potential to expand the capabilities of any complex endoscopic surgical procedure.
Sam Rukmangadhan – Shih Lab
Transforming the paradigm of fungal biomanufacturing
Cyclosporin is a valuable pharmaceutical compound derived from fungi, but the market is currently limited by A. terreus cultivation and transformation. Sam will work with the Shih Lab to reduce the cost of feedstocks required for solid state fermentation, thereby optimizing the A. terreus production pipeline for enhanced yields and improved economic efficiency.
