LSU Innovation Park

Today, we are happy to spotlight two incredible LSU student interns who are making a meaningful impact and discovering their professional passions right here in our ecosystem.

While we are highlighting these two individuals today, we want to express our deep appreciation for ALL the LSU interns working at The Emerge Center. Their collective dedication, energy, and hard work shape a brighter future for our community every single day. ❤️

Please join us in celebrating Amari and Daya as they share what their internship experiences have meant for their personal and career growth:

👥 Amari | Discovering a Passion for HR
“Being at Emerge has helped me grow both personally and professionally by strengthening my communication, patience, and time management skills. What started as simply applying for an internship turned into discovering a passion for HR that I could see myself pursuing long-term. Through both the good and challenging days, I’ve learned that no matter the roadblocks, you can still overcome them and succeed. I also want to give a special thank you to Kenya for all of her support throughout this journey—she truly made this experience a great one.”

🧠 Daya | Connecting Classroom Psychology to Real-World Care
“My internship has given me the opportunity to expand my knowledge and practice the core care principles highlighted in my psychology studies. I love working as a technician at Emerge because I always walk in and out feeling so glad to be a part of this team. Working with the kids has unlocked a new mindset for me and brought so much light and positivity into my life.”

We are thrilled to support these students as they bridge the gap between academic theory and professional ex*****on. Thank you to all of our outstanding interns for making the LSU community proud! 👏🌟

From Graduate Assistants to MBA Graduates! 🎓💼💜💛

Huge congratulations to our two incredible Graduate Assistants, Andrew Sanli and Abby Matherne, who are officially earning their MBAs from Louisiana State University!

For the past two years, these two have been a major asset behind so many of our projects at the LSU Innovation Park. From assisting entrepreneurs and analyzing data to keeping things running smoothly, they have brought top-tier energy, dedication, and talent to our team every single day.

While we are certainly going to miss having them around the office, we could not be more proud to see them take this massive next step in their careers. We know they are going to bring that same Tiger excellence to the business world!

Thank you both for two years of hard work, laughs, and pure impact. We wish you both absolutely the best in everything you do next!

Geaux Tigers! 🐯✨

From Student Incubator to Market Leader! 💜💛

We are so proud to highlight AcornBids, an LSU Student Incubator graduate company that is officially launching and revolutionizing government contracting.

Led by founder Charles Beam, this LSU born innovation is building the infrastructure to make procurement more accessible. The federal market spends billions annually, yet discovery tools are often stuck in the past. While traditional search engines rely on exact keywords, AcornBids uses Semantic Discovery and Large Language Models (LLMs) to understand the actual intent and context behind every solicitation.

This LSU-born innovation is building the infrastructure to make procurement:
Transparent: Clearer insights into federal opportunities.
Efficient: Moving beyond manual, outdated "keyword-match" searches.
Data-Driven: Matching high-performing firms with the right contracts through advanced tech.

AcornBids is proving that discovery should never be a bottleneck for growth.

🚀 Get Early Access: Sign up today at the link in our bio or visit https://acornbids.com/.

How does a researcher become highly cited? LSU faculty show how it's done.

“This paper is high-impact because it examines an existential risk, projecting the billions of people who would starve under nuclear winter scenarios” ... “Focus on questions that address pressing scientific or societal needs” ... “a totally unexpected discovery” ... “In general, research that becomes widely cited often does so because it creates a shared resource others can easily adopt and build upon.”

Hear more from LSU researchers who recently authored highly cited papers on how they did it: https://www.lsu.edu/blog/2025/11/highly-cited-papers.php

LSU College of the Coast & Environment LSU College of Engineering LSU College of Science LSU AgCenter LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences