Georgia Tech’s 17th annual Career, Research, Innovation, and Development Conference (CRIDC) recognized and awarded 31 exceptional scholars with $38,000 in travel grants for their outstanding research presentations delivered during CRIDC’s in-person and virtual poster competitions on January 29, 2026.  

These winners were selected through a competitive review process that evaluated their ability to clearly communicate the significance and importance of their research to a broad audience.

Editor’s Note:
Award amounts listed in a previous version of this announcement have been corrected. The updated information reflects the final award amounts available for CRIDC 2026.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 CRIDC Poster Competitions:  

Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education Winners ($1,500 each) 

Sarah Ali, College of Engineering 

Erik Barbosa, College of Engineering 

Caitlyn Davis, College of Engineering 

Ishmamul Hoque Sadab, College of Engineering 

Arta Osmani, College of Engineering 

Nishone Thompson, College of Engineering  

Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education - Online Winner ($1,000) 

Mohammed Al-Desouky, College of Engineering

The Office of the Executive Vice President for Research (EVPR) Winners ($1,500 each)

Nina Sara Fraticelli-Guzman, College of Engineering  

Murilo Gustineli, College of Computing  

Pierce Howell, College of Engineering 

Gabrielle Krueger, College of Sciences 

Ishita Kumar, College of Engineering 

Nidhi Malhotra, College of Engineering 

Victor Menezes, College of Engineering 

Walter Parker, College of Engineering 

Maggie Straight, College of Sciences 

Samuel Wilcox, College of Engineering 

College of Engineering Winners ($1,000 Each) 

Daksh Adhikari 

Jun Baek 

Chizmuzo Chibuko 

Julia Nelson 

Gabriela Sanchez Rodriguez 

John Sentmanat 

Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Winners ($500 Each) 

Soojung Crystal Chun 

Vibhuti Dahiya  

College of Sciences Winners ($1,000 each) 

Jeffy Jeffy 

Shreya Kothari 

Monica Monge Loria 

Shreyaa Srinivasan 

Sofia Stepanoff 

Yi-Chien Tang 

This year’s CRIDC was sponsored by Kondra Systems Inc. and Sandia National Laboratories and was hosted by the Graduate Student Government Association in partnership with the Office of Graduate Education, the Career Center, and Belonging and Student Support. Special thanks to the Dean’s Offices of the College of Engineering, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and College of Sciences, as well as the Executive Vice President for Research (EVPR) and the Provost’s Office, for sponsoring the travel grant awards. 

The 2026 conference featured a highly engaging Employer Networking Brunch, connecting students with more than 30 Atlanta-based employers across diverse industries. CRIDC also introduced three new special sessions: a Fireside Chat with Researchers, Speed Research Networking, and a Coffee Break with Sandia National Laboratories. This year’s poster competitions saw record participation with over 100 students presenting their research in person, and 15 students who presented their research online.  

For more information about CRIDC, please visit https://grad.gatech.edu/cridc.