On paper, an Adobe Research internship is defined by a summer project. In practice, it’s a chance to follow your research wherever it leads: learning from experts across disciplines, working at the cutting edge of AI, and helping shape the future of Adobe products.

Summer 2026 Adobe Research interns, Andrew Shaw, Lisa DiSalvo, and Bryant Bettencourt, worked on projects ranging from human-computer interaction to generative AI to document experiences. But ask them about their summers, and they’ll tell you the project was only part of the story.

Lisa DiSalvo explored how AI can support the creative process

DiSalvo is an HCI researcher and PhD student at Columbia University who spent her summer exploring agentic illustrations, specifically how AI agents could help sketch artists and illustrators discover new possibilities during the earliest stages of the creative process. Her project investigated whether an agent could offer artists potential additions or directions when they encounter a creative block while still allowing them to remix, modify, reject, or build on those suggestions.

The focus on supporting, rather than replacing, the creative process is part of what drew DiSalvo to Adobe Research as a GEM Fellow. With her own background in art, she was interested in working at a company whose products are built around creators.

“I think AI at Adobe is creator-first,” DiSalvo said. “It’s less about whether AI can do the art for us and more about whether AI can help us think of something we didn’t think of before.” 

DiSalvo’s relationship with her mentor, Research Scientist Kunjal Panchal, was another important part of the summer. DiSalvo had someone who could support both the larger questions behind her research and the everyday realities of carrying it out. More importantly, she found a mentor she felt comfortable approaching and learning from throughout the internship.

But when asked about her proudest moment of the summer, DiSalvo didn’t point to a research milestone. It came when her mother visited San Jose and DiSalvo gave her a tour of Adobe’s office.

“Being able to show my mom the world I’ve been explaining to her and describing to her was just very powerful,” DiSalvo said. “For her to see those sorts of spaces and see that her daughter is there, and her daughter is leading meetings, and her daughter is a scientist, is just very important.”

Bryant Bettencourt connected research with real-world outcomes

Bettencourt joined Adobe Research from Northwestern University’s Master’s in Artificial Intelligence program and spent the summer researching how guided form-filling interfaces could be generated from PDF forms. It was his first experience conducting research within a company, and one of the things that excited him most was discovering how closely research and product development could connect.

The internship pushed Bettencourt to think beyond an academic lens and consider how research might ultimately affect customers. He worked with mentors who’ve moved technologies from research into Adobe products and understand what it takes to bridge the two. Through that experience, he came to see practical impact as an important part of advancing AI.

“Adobe is in a really unique place where they have a ton of tools that people use already,” Bettencourt said. “They’re focused on getting AI to work with people, and integrating AI seamlessly into the workflow.’”

Much of Bettencourt’s learning happened in conversations with fellow interns, too. He shared an office with other interns and regularly connected with those on his floor. Lunches and Adobe intern events gave those relationships room to grow, something he particularly appreciated as a self-described introvert. He learned from what others were discovering and brought that new knowledge back into his own work.

“Adobe made that social connection really easy,” Bettencourt said. “I wasn’t afraid to ask questions.”

Andrew Shaw brought a human-centered perspective to emerging technology

Shaw is a first-year computer science PhD student at Cornell University. His summer research focused on understanding the tasks, values, and priorities of people who don’t currently use visual AI tools, and how future technologies might better address their everyday needs and challenges.

When choosing among companies through the GEM Fellowship, he ranked Adobe highly because he saw an opportunity to pursue research that considers how technology can better serve people. By the end of the summer, he said that expectation had held true.

For Shaw, advancing AI also means expanding the range of people considered when technologies are designed.

“I really believe that the future of AI lies in meeting people where they are and understanding their everyday needs,” Shaw said. “We need to develop technologies that ultimately make their lives better and empower more people to create.”

His project put that idea into practice. Working with Adobe’s Corporate Social Responsibility team and partner organizations, he interviewed people whose perspectives may not always be represented among existing technology users. The experience broadened his view of what industry research could look like and allowed him to connect his interest in human-centered technology with questions about who gets considered when new AI experiences are designed.

Coming into Adobe, Shaw wasn’t sure how the ideas he wanted to explore would fit within the scope of his internship, but he found mentors who encouraged him to share those ideas and helped him develop them within the goals of the project. Along the way, he built connections beyond his immediate team, including with researchers whose work he had followed before joining Adobe.

“I feel like I didn’t even just have one mentor,” Shaw said. “I had, I would say, four or so mentors.”

Each relationship offered something different, from guidance on participatory research to experimental design and the practical challenges that emerged throughout the summer.

A lesson he would pass along to future interns is to speak up and share their ideas. Shaw initially wasn’t sure how his suggestions would be received, but his experience taught him the value of asking questions and contributing what he was thinking.

“If you don’t ask, you won’t know,” he said.

Interested in spending a summer at Adobe Research?

An Adobe Research internship offers the chance to publish at top conferences, work alongside world-class scientists, and see your ideas influence real products. Applications for 2027 are now open. In partnership with the GEM Fellowship, Adobe also continues to support a strong pipeline of future STEM innovators.