Four Students Win 2025 Dean A. Horn Award for Undergraduate Study in Marine Research
MIT Sea Grant is happy to announce the winners of the 2025 Dean A. Horn Award for Undergraduate Study in Marine Research. For the first time, MIT Sea Grant has selected four MIT students to receive the award: Thao Do (Mechanical Engineering ’25), Ved Ganesh (Mechanical and Ocean Engineering ’27), Adrienne Lai (Mechanical Engineering ’25), and Makenna Reilly (Mechanical and Ocean Engineering ’28).
All four students will also present their research projects at the IEEE Oceans 2025 conference in Brest, France in June.
Thao Do (Mechanical Engineering ’25)
Research Project: Design and Field Testing of a Scalable Deep-Sea Sediment Sampler System for Hadal Depths
“I have always been interested in Mechanical Engineering but had few opportunities to explore my interests until I got to MIT. I have learned so much during my time here thanks to MIT’s commitment to hands-on learning that has allowed me to grow in classes such at 2.007 and 2.009 and programs such as the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). My interest in ocean related engineering began when I was fortunate enough to become involved with MIT Sea Grant.”
“As I spent more time at MIT Sea Grant, I became more and more interested in the engineering challenges involved with deep ocean exploration.”
“This curiosity is what motivated me to take on the challenge of designing a purely mechanical sediment sampler device for hadal depths.”
Ved Ganesh (Mechanical and Ocean Engineering ’27)
Research Project: Design and Characterization of an Environmentally Conscious, Foldable Drifter for Accessible Ocean Sampling
“I joined the drifters project as a freshman summer UROP [with MIT Sea Grant]. I think a big part of my initial interest came from the connections I could see between design decisions in drifters—e.g., sizing the spars, designing a compliant lock—and content covered in 2.001, which I’d just taken.”
“It’s also been really interesting to see, especially as I’ve gotten to know the project in the past year, how drifters attempts to serve both researchers and educators—an aspiration I think is pretty unique to Sea Grant projects.”
Adrienne Lai (Mechanical Engineering ’25)
Research Project: Vortex Detection Mechanisms of Harbor Seal Whiskers for Biomimetic Sensing
“As an undergraduate at MIT, my favorite part has been being surrounded by a variety of opportunities and people of varied interests. I have had the honor [of] participating in many aspects of the community including being the Chief Meteorologist for The Tech, the Captain and Mechanical Lead for MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team (SEVT), a Pappalardo Lab Apprentice, an Orientation Captain, and a researcher with MIT Sea Grant. In high school, I was the Captain and Programmer for my FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics team, so I was excited by the potential a harbor seal whisker sensor has to improve underwater sensing for robotic missions. I was interested in the biomimicry element as well – how we can learn from what has evolved naturally in animals to improve how we do things. I have been able to tune the project direction to match my interests, starting with sensor design and manufacturing and moving all the way to hydrodynamic analysis, which has allowed me to gain a variety of skills that will be instrumental in my career.”
“I have loved working with MIT Sea Grant due to the positive environment, passion for research, and commitment to learning!”
Makenna Reilly (Mechanical and Ocean Engineering ’28)
Research Project: Design and Testing of a Water Sampler for an Autonomous Underwater Zip-Line Robot
“Coming into MIT in the fall of 2024, I knew I wanted to be involved with MIT Sea Grant in some way during my time here. During the Ocean Engineering FPOP (DISCOE) I was introduced to the UROP positions available and applied for the first one that I believed I could make a real impact with. Zippy’s applications are vast, allowing me to explore opportunities to help large communities affected by water issues.”
“It was intimidating to start working on a project for real implementation instead of simulation, but the Sea Grant community made integration into the lab easy, and I slowly gained the knowledge and confidence to make a prototype I’m proud of.”
“Throughout the year I was consistently surprised and excited about all of the opportunities available, and I can’t wait to come back to MIT Sea Grant again in the fall.”
About the Dean Horn Award
Dean A. Horn was Director of MIT Sea Grant from 1975 to 1982. The Dean A. Horn Award for Undergraduate Study in Marine Research originated upon his retirement, established by friends and colleagues to honor his ideals: service, creativity, pursuit of excellence and tireless application to research. An award of $1000 is presented yearly to selected MIT undergraduate students for marine-related projects that demonstrate excellence in design and execution of the research project, and clear communication of results. Students from any MIT department are eligible.
For a complete list of past winners and for more information about the Dean Horn Award, visit seagrant.mit.edu/dean-horn-award/.
