Intern Spotlight: Purdue Students Gain In-Depth Experience at Battelle

Every day Battelle challenges interns and co-ops with rewarding work in a welcoming environment that empowers critical thinking, fosters creativity and inspires innovation. For this blog spotlight, we’re highlighting two individuals who came to us from Purdue University. Purdue is known for having one of the best engineering programs in the country. 

Thomas Deucher is an undergraduate in his junior year studying material science and engineering. He interned with Battelle this past summer to focus on advanced materials and help a team working on an exciting project. Thomas was grateful for the opportunity to work on something of this magnitude. 

“I worked on a project that people outside of our department mentioned as one they are most excited to see where it goes,” said Thomas. “I was highly involved in the discussions revolving around the future of this project, which eventually led to co-inventorship on a pending patent supporting this invention. Battelle’s not only willingness but enthusiasm to listen to interns’ ideas truly exceeded any expectations I had.”   

When asked what accomplishment he was most proud of this summer, Thomas recalled being asked to describe specific elements for a provisional patent being compiled.  

“I replied with a detailed response and within a few days when I was reading over the submitted provisional patent, I was able to see my wording and use of terminology emerge,” said Thomas. “This was an enormous moment for me, as my interests have always fallen within inventing and creating things with a fine eye for detail. I am receiving a minor in intellectual property law for engineers and the ability to transfer my passion for law, specifically that of IP, was special.” 

Thomas started an internship with NASA this semester. He credits his Battelle experience with giving him a lot of confidence and insight into his field of study. 

“Battelle helped elevate me and my abilities through both their people and the work they do,” said Thomas. “The employees are top of the line in their fields, and they perpetuate a culture of teaching and empowering of the younger generation.” 

Jack Krouse, who was studying engineering, aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering at Purdue at the time, interned with Battelle in 2019 and is now a full-time mechanical engineer at Batelle. Like Thomas, Jack was impressed with the depth of experience he was able to get during his internship. 

“What struck me the most almost immediately when I started and worked through my internship at Battelle was the sheer project diversity that I was getting exposed to,” said Jack. “I had the opportunity to help out with three different projects that ranged in research, product design and testing. All of them had different challenges and required different thought processes that really made the internship feel fresh throughout the entire summer.” 

The diversity of project work was what attracted Jack and made him want to continue his career with Battelle after graduation. His current job involves a lot of design and problem solving, and because his team works closely with a client whose needs vary, he is able to work on a wide variety of tasks. 

“I’d say that Battelle is a place that should really be looked into for its diversity and uniqueness in engineering and research projects,” said Jack. “There are a bunch of different career avenues that can be developed here due to the vast amount of areas that Battelle has expertise in, so it’s a great place to start a career and get a taste of what real engineering is like. We work on really cool projects, the atmosphere is quite friendly, and the amount of knowledge that can be learned in these halls seems endless.” 

Are You Ready to Join Battelle?  

Students at Purdue can learn more about Battelle at an upcoming career fair. We’ll be at the Fall Hybrid Industrial Roundtable on Sept. 13. Stop by to talk about internship and co-op opportunities. If you’re a senior, come to our booth to talk about entry level openings with our recruitment team. Know a student at Purdue? Make sure to share this blog with them so they don’t miss out.  

Check out all our current job openings by visiting jobs.battelle.org. You belong with the brightest minds—apply today to join our team.