UIUC Office of Technology Management Interns

The Office of Technology Management employs 11 students each year to work in a variety of roles, including technology screening, graphic design, copywriting, and IT support. The office's interns are key team members, who bring exceptional and diverse backgrounds to their work and tremendous value to the University's technology transfer initiative.

Commercialization Analysts
Commercialization Analysts focus primarily on screening and evaluating new technology disclosures to determine a technology’s commercialization potential; they also conduct special projects such as competitive analysis and market research.

Aswini K. Betha, Ph.D.
Aswini Betha earned his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Houston. He also holds Master of Science degree in Human Genetics and a Diploma in Human Resources Development from Andhra University, India, and a Certificate in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and has worked as a Visiting Research Scholar in the Biochemistry department of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Aswini also assists the Technology Managers in developing technology commercialization strategies for Institute for Genomic Biology and Energy Biosciences Institute. He can be reached at abetha@uiuc.edu.

Joseph Bradley, Ph.D.
Joe Bradley earned an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University, and a Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. Joe is currently a candidate for a Ph.D. in Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering, also at Illinois. Joe has 5 years work experience in the consumer product and consumer softwareindustries, including a position as applications engineer at EDS. He has an issued patent for a child safety device and also designed a computer program to analyze the neurological behavior of diabetic and heart transplant patients that was used at Baptist Hospital in Memphis.After completing the commercialization analyst internship, Joe remained on the team to manage several large-scale disclosure-mining projects. He can be contacted at jabradly@uiuc.edu.

Jennifer Jackson
Jennifer Jackson earned her undergraduate degree in Fine and Applied Arts in Art Education at the University of Illinois and is currently a candidate for a Masters of Library and Information Science at Illinois. Jennifer’s work history includes extensive library experience, helping with research questions and supervising student workers. She also has teaching experience. Jennifer can be reached at jmjacksn@uiuc.edu.

Craig Kitching
Craig Kitching is a candidate for an MBA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he previously received a BS in Philosophy from Illinois State University. His work experience includes network support management with Connectivity U, Inc. and web design with Illinois State University. Craig can be contacted at: ckitchi2@uiuc.edu.

Nickou Oskoui
Nickou Oskoui received his BS in Computer Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently a JD candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has more than 5 years of experience as a software developer in Austin. His experience as a programmer included work on business information systems and management solutions. He also has experience in software marketing and sales support. Nickou can be contacted at noskoui2@law.uiuc.edu.

Joshua Peacher
Joshua Peacher is an MBA candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; he did his undergraduate work at Valparaiso University receiving a BSBA in finance. His work experience includes managing investment portfolios with Thrivent Financial and consulting work with Illinois Business Consulting, a student organization in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Business. Joshua can be contacted at peacher2@uiuc.edu.

Anand Rai
Anand Rai received a degree in Engineering from the University of Mumbai, India, and is currently an MBA candidate at Illinois. Prior to coming to Illinois, he worked as an engineer for more than 4 years at Zydus-Altana Healthcare PVT, in Mumbai. In 2005, he was named Zydus-Altana employee of the year. Anand can be contacted at adrai2@uiuc.edu.

Mei-Suen Wong
Mei-Suen Wong is an MBA candidate at the University of Illinois; previously, she received her B.S. in Computer Engineering from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Her professional experience with MFEC Public Company Ltd in Bankok included proposal development and account management. Mei-Suen can be reached at meiwong2@uiuc.edu.

Graphic Design
The graphic design student handles all of the office's graphic needs, creating brochures, flyers, newsletters, website designs and more.

Lauren Ferguson
Lauren Ferguson is currently a candidate for a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lauren has extensive experience in both graphic design and photography, and she has worked in a professional photography studio. Lauren can be reached at lfergus2@uiuc.edu.

Journalism
The journalism intern writes all of the office's copy for technology internet listings and assists with the editing of extra-office communications.

Pamela Dempsey
Pamela Dempsey is a candidate for a Masters in Journalism from the University of Illinois; she previously earned her BA in Psychology from Northern Arizona University. Pamela has worked as a reporter in New Mexico and Illinois and currently reports for the News-Gazette’s Danville bureau. She can be reached at pamelagdempsey@msn.com@uiuc.edu.

Information Technology
The IT student helps maintain both hardware and software around the office, supports the website, and is involved with various other programming projects.

Raj Sodhi
Raj Sodhi is a candidate for a Bachelor's degree in computer science at the University of Illinois. His previous work experience includes programming, networking, and end user support at the Nevada Terawatt Facility in Reno.
Raj can be reached at: rsodhi2@uiuc.edu.