Volume 28 (2026)

For more than 35 years, WISE sponsoring societies have brought outstanding engineering students to Washington to learn how government officials make decisions about complex technological issues, and how engineers can contribute to the legislative and regulatory public policy processes. Each student independently researches and writes a paper on a topical engineering-related public policy issue that is important to the student’s sponsoring society. These presentations represent the work of each student.

Many thanks to the 2026 Faculty Member in Residence, Joe Sinicrope, for his leadership and unfailing mentorship of of the 2026 WISE interns.

Back row – Nevan Mukherjee, IEEE; Aadhi Narayan, IEEE; Ty Garrison, ASMT; Andrew Aklagi, IEEE; Tommaso Fumagalli, IEEE
Middle row – Caleb Friesen, IEEE; Bradford Arnold, ANS; Ryan Cunius IEEE-USA staff; Javen Bies-Dupree, IEEE, Kristian Byrd, IEEE
Front row – Harrison Katz, IEEE; Sonia Lerner, IEEE; Kate Rutherford, ASTM; Blake Bird, ANS

Madison Kate Rutherford
University of Tennessee @ Chattanooga, ASTM
— Building Confidence in the Beneficial Use of Coal Combustion Residuals
    – Slides

Ty Garrison
Illinois Institute of Technology, ASTM
— Strengthening the Air Traffic Control Workforce Pipeline Through Federal-Private Investment
    – Slides

Javen Bies-Dupree
University of Alabama, ASHRAE
— Building an AI Ready America: A National Workforce Development Strategy for Artificial Intelligence Literacy in K-12 Education
    – Slides

Andrew Aklagi
George Washington University, IEEE
— Data Inaccessibility in Healthcare: The Case for a Differential Privacy Standard in Medical De-Identification
    – Slides

Sonia Lerner
George Washington University, IEEE
— Powering the AI Revolution: Mitigating Data Centers’ Harmful Effects Without Hindering Innovation
    – Slides

Kristian Byrd
George Washington University, IEEE
— Advancing Closed-Loop Ultrasound Neuromodulation: Addressing Research Underinvestment and CMS Coverage Barriers
    – Slides

Tommaso Fumagalli
University of Texas @ Dallas, IEEE
— Bridging the Gap of Interoperability: Standardizing Compatibility of 5G Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN)
    – Slides

Caleb Friesen
University of North Texas, IEEE
— Expanding Delegated Technical Review Under FAA Part 450
    – Slides

Aadhi Narayan
University of Delaware, IEEE
— Expanding The Right to Repair Medical Imaging Equipment: Bridging Gaps in Diagnostic Care
    – Slides

Nevan Mukherjee
Georgia Institute of Technology, IEEE
— “Working Families Tax Cuts Act” Auction of 800MHz of Spectrum by 2034
    – Slides

Blake Bird
Purdue University, ANS
— Navigating Public Engagement and Education Surrounding Nuclear Energy in an Era of Nuclear Expansion
    – Slides

Harrison Katz
University of California-Berkeley, IEEE
— Analysis and Recommendations on the SECURE Data Act
    – Slides

Bradford Arnold
University of Texas, ANS
— Opening the DOE Nuclear Workforce Program to the Construction Trades
    – Slides