MTSU mechatronics major awarded prestigious DAAD RISE summer internship in Germany

Middle Tennessee State University junior mechatronics engineering major Samuel Apigian of Murfreesboro, Tenn., right, and Engineering Technology lecturer Antonio Saavedra watch robotics equipment at work inside a Voorhees Engineering Technology laboratory. Apigian is heading to Germany this summer after being awarded the highly competitive Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Research Internship in Science and Engineering, better known as the DAAD RISE scholarship. Apigian will be interning at Technische Universität Dresden. (MTSU photo by Robin E. Lee)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University student Samuel Apigian has been awarded a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Research Internship in Science and Engineering, better known as DAAD RISE, in Dresden, Germany, this summer.

Shown here earlier this semester outside the Davis Science Building on the Middle Tennessee State University campus, junior mechatronics engineering major Samuel Apigian of Murfreesboro, Tenn., is heading to Germany this summer after being awarded the prestigious Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Research Internship in Science and Engineering, better known as the DAAD RISE scholarship. (MTSU photo by Robin E. Lee)

A junior mechatronics engineering major from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Apigian was selected from more than 2,000 applicants worldwide.

“I am excited and grateful for this opportunity,” said Apigian, a student in the university’s Honors College. “I will be able to explore nanopositioning and its use in silicone applications, such as computer chip, which requires precise placement.”

Apigian will be interning at Technische Universität Dresden, working under Yutao Lan, a professor of machine tools development and adaptive controls at the German university.

Also known as RISE Germany, for short, the summer internship program is for undergraduate students from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, engineering and computer science.

RISE Germany offers unique opportunities for bachelor’s degree students to work with research groups at universities and top research institutions across Germany for a duration of three months (minimum stay 10 weeks) during the summer.

“DAAD RISE internships are open to undergraduates from North America, Great Britain, and Ireland, with only about 300 being awarded each year,” explained Antonio Saavedra, an engineering technology lecturer at MTSU. “As a Buchanan Fellow and one of our most outstanding mechatronics engineering students, Sam is well deserving of this competitive internship. This is a great opportunity for him to continue his professional development and add valuable research experience.”

Middle Tennessee State University junior mechatronics engineering major Samuel Apigian of Murfreesboro, Tenn., left, and Engineering Technology lecturer Antonio Saavedra are pictured next to robotics equipment inside a Voorhees Engineering Technology laboratory earlier this semester on the MTSU campus. Apigian is heading to Germany this summer after being awarded the highly competitive DAAD RISE scholarship where he will be interning at Technische Universität Dresden. (MTSU photo by Robin E. Lee)

Added Laura Clippard, undergraduate fellowships specialist at MTSU: “Sam is an exceptional student, distinguished by his calmness, motivation, proactivity and deep intelligence. His remarkable work ethic makes him a deserving candidate for the DAAD RISE scholarship.”

Laura Clippard, University Honors College Undergraduate Fellowships Office — Laura Clippard

All scholarship holders receive insurance and stipends from the DAAD to help cover living expenses, which is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. Host universities and institutes provide housing assistance and match RISE interns with doctoral students whom they assist and who serve as their mentors. German language is not required; the working language is English.

This won’t be his first time studying out of the country. Last summer, Apigian attended a study abroad trip in Tanzania. He plans to continue to study in the mechatronics field, researching machine learning and AI, focusing on either automotive or robotics.

“That trip was part of why I applied for DAAD RISE,” he explained. “Initially, I hadn’t thought about graduate school out of the country. Now, I feel like I can go pretty much anywhere and not be limited to a particular area.”

For more information on DAAD RISE, visit https://www.daad.org/en/. For more information about scholarship opportunities aboard, visit MTSU’s Undergraduate Fellowships Office online at mtsu.edu/honors/ufo.

— Robin E. Lee (Robin.E.Lee@mtsu.edu)