The 2026 Jiang Fellows have accepted internships and will spend the summer gaining firsthand entrepreneurial experience in industries ranging from immunotherapy to artificial intelligence and even regenerative farming. 

This year's fellows had an interest in international startups, with some heading to France, Sweden, Denmark and Japan to pursue their summer internships.   

Every summer, the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering's Jiang Fellows program offers students the opportunity to gain experience working for a startup. The program is open to all juniors at Cornell University, regardless of major, who are interested in entrepreneurship.    

Fully funded through the support of Dr. Tianyi (TJ) Jiang ’96, the program offers students a weekly stipend and a travel allowance, allowing them to focus on their work. They also benefit from one-on-one sessions with Duffield Engineering Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, who provide personalized mentorship and help them find internships that align with their interests.   

This year, 25 fellows are completing internships through the program:     

• Ali A Mobeen '27 (biology & society) is interning at Kopra Bio, a company that makes cancer cures using viral immunotherapy technology  
• Anisha Roy '27 (biomedical engineering and entrepreneurship) is interning at Curlim, a company that develops innovative nanomedicines targeting neuropathies with a particular focus on hereditary neuropathies. 
• Antranig Baghdassarian '27 (biomedical engineering) is interning at LEADOPTIK, a company building a miniature imaging platform for minimally invasive procedures. 
• Anunya Kasliwal '27 (architecture) is interning at Samara, a company that develops accessory dwelling units to help homeowners add flexible living spaces to their homes. 
• Darian Pan '27 (applied economics and management) is interning at General Knowledge a company bringing the verification layer to LLMs. 
• Elie Ntakirutimana '27 (global development and agricultural sciences) is interning at AgriCapture, a company that builds markets for regenerative rice farming and grassland management practices. 
• Evan Ye '27 (applied economics and management) is interning at David Protein, a company that creates tools to increase muscle and decrease fat. 
• Isabel Chan '27 (electrical and computer engineering) is interning at ATLANT 3D, a company building an advanced atomic-scale manufacturing platform that enables accelerated innovation of the advanced electronics and emerging technologies. 
• Ishaana Rao '27 (operations research and information engineering) is interning at Acelab, a company with a materials management platform that empowers A&D firms and owners to seamlessly research, select, and document decisions. 
• Jacquelyn Sparrow '27 (biological engineering) is interning at Axonis Therapeutics a company developing first-in-class medicines targeting KCC2 by translating breakthrough discoveries spun out from Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard and Laval University. 
• James Thomforde '27 (mechanical engineering) is interning at Revolute Robotics, a company that builds inspection and surveillance robots to collect data in hard-to-reach areas that current robots are unable to access. 
• Jonathan Distler '27 (mechanical engineering) is interning at Valar Atomics, a company that creates abundant gas out of thin air using atomic energy. 
• Juliet Crane '27 (computer science) is interning at Idler, a company that builds reinforcement learning environments that teach AI models to code at expert human levels. 
• Kate Stiens '27 (fashion design) is interning at Studio Constance, a company that makes original knitwear pieces in classic luxury.
  
• Matthew Heering '27 (mechanical engineering) is interning at Beanstalk, a company that uses vertical farming technology to help build new food systems.  
• Maya Snead '27 (economics & information science) is interning at Seen Nutrition, a company that produces a food-first calcium chew, made from only real food providing highly bioavailable calcium.  
• Natalie Gemmer '27 (hotel administration) is interning at Playkit, a company that runs large-scale TikTok campaigns and helps creators make quick money and hone in on their brand storytelling skills.  
• Nicolas Garcia '27 (electrical & computer engineering) is interning at Thoro.ai, a company that develops software, hardware and operates a cloud service that allows machines to operate autonomously. 
• Owen Karmel '27 (physics and biochemistry) is interning at Thymmune Therapeutics, a company developing a machine learning-driven thymic cell engineering platform to restore normal immune function in aging and disease. 
• Owen Luo '27 (biometry and statistics) is interning at ArkEdge Space, a company using a space technology to provide end-to-end solutions for micro-satellite constellations. 
• Shravan Lad '27 (applied economics and management, information science) is interning at Structured AI, a company that uses AI agents that learn standards, apply the right building codes, and automatically review construction drawings. 
• Swecha Agarwal '27 (mechanical engineering) is interning at Apptronik, a company that leverage robotics to improve universal quality of life. 
• Vansh Bherwal '27 (electrical and computer engineering and computer science) is interning at Thoro.ai, a company that develops software, hardware and operates a cloud service that allows machines to operate autonomously. 
• Yan Yu '27 (human biology, health, and society) is interning at Process First, a company that provides research and analytics, builds digital infrastructure, and creates human-centered tools to help communities provide healthy food to people. 
• Yuvraj Sarda '27 (information science & mathematics) is interning at Wayground, a company that provides a supplemental curriculum platform that bridges the gap between district priorities and classroom realities and helps students hit grade-level standards faster. 

While students work at their internships, they will have the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills, gain practical experience and grow their professional networks. Additionally, they join a network of over 200 program alumni to support them on their career paths.

Credit: Vanash Bherwal/Cornell University

“Entrepreneurship is exciting. You never know what will happen next. It is never a direct path from start to finish,” said Yan Yu. “I think the problem-solving aspect is what makes it so interesting, to continue improving and working on your product or service!”   

At the end of their summer startup experience, students return to campus for the fall semester and deliver a presentation about their experiences.    

“After the Jiang Fellows program, I hope to use my entrepreneurship experience to identify meaningful problems and create solutions that are accessible. I want to apply my learnings to be able help society in a positive way,” said Vanash Bherwal.  

Students interested in joining the 2026-27 cohort can apply for the program when applications open this fall. More information about the program and the fellows’ summer journeys is available on the Entrepreneurship at Cornell website.