Every summer, Adobe Research interns step into projects that are as ambitious as they are promising — problems with no single roadmap, and solutions waiting to be discovered. What shapes these internships isn’t the technology alone, but the students driving it forward, each bringing curiosity, creativity, and their own insights into the work.
For these six interns, the value of an Adobe Research internship came from both the freedom to explore and the support to succeed. Some described the thrill of ownership: having the agency to shape their own projects while still being supported by mentors and peers who push them to think bigger. Others reflected on how different industry research feels compared to academia— grounded not just in theory, but also in the potential to reach millions of users through Adobe’s products. Many interns pointed out the importance of community within the research team: the shared lunches, spontaneous collaborations, and encouragement to simply walk up to someone and ask questions.
Watch the full video and meet the interns whose experiences highlight the passion, impact, and collaboration that define an Adobe Research internship. Then, read more about their projects below.
David Borts
ETH Zürich, Masters Student in Machine Learning
Borts graduated from Princeton University in 2024 with a degree in computer science and began his masters in Switzerland after. At Adobe, Borts is reimagining the future of vector graphic design with a focus on keeping human creativity at the forefront in an age of AI. The experience confirmed how much he valued industry research, where collaboration, support, and a shared sense of purpose made the difference between working alone and building something together.
Zoë Marschner
Carnegie Mellon University, PhD Student in Computer Graphics
Marschner is a third-year PhD student studying graphics and geometry processing. Her internship at Adobe Research focused on developing mathematically-principled methods for interpolating between geometry in 2D and 3D, with applications in animation and design tools. The internship was closely tailored to her PhD research, allowing her to deepen her academic expertise while exploring how geometry research translates into industry applications. She appreciated Adobe’s strong mentorship culture and the unique opportunity for interns to publish while contributing to meaningful, product-related research.
Yunyi Zhu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD Student in HCI
Zhu is a fifth-year PhD student in HCI whose research explores digital fabrication and hardware interaction. At Adobe Research, she is developing an AI-powered tool that maps knobs, sliders, and other physical controls to creative workflows, bridging hardware and software for more customizable, efficient use. The most rewarding part of the internship for her was the interdisciplinary environment: bringing her hardware expertise into a space largely focused on LLMs and discovering new research directions through spontaneous conversations with peers. Zhu also embraced the intern community — and became known for her enthusiasm for the food options at Adobe cafés in San Jose.
Yuki Wang
Cornell University, PhD Student in Computer Science
Wang is a fourth-year PhD student focused on integrating language models into robot learning. At Adobe Research she is working on enhancing AI assistants to handle subjective design requests. She highlights Adobe’s culture of visibility, where interns present their work alongside full-time researchers in weekly lab share-outs. For Wang, the experience reinforced the value of bridging human creativity and AI by building assistants that can adapt to nuanced, subjective user needs.
Christina Chance
UCLA, PhD Student in Computer Science | GEM Fellow
Chance is a fourth-year PhD student specializing in natural language processing with a focus on fairness and ethics in AI. At Adobe Research, she is developing a synthetic persona benchmark to evaluate how agentic systems like chatbots or recommendation engines perform across diverse user profiles. Her project tests whether AI can avoid stereotyping users by simulating more nuanced, representative personas. Chance’s internship aligned closely with her dissertation work, giving her both flexibility and support for publishable research.
Saugat Pandey
Washington University in St. Louis, PhD Student in Computer Science
Pandey is a fifth-year PhD student specializing in data visualization and AI. At Adobe Research, he worked on an agentic framework to evaluate and improve the aesthetics of data visualizations, helping make charts and presentations more engaging and memorable. Beyond his research, he was active in Adobe’s intern community, serving as a community captain who organized hikes, sports, and social events to bring interns together. For Pandey, the summer was about both advancing data visualization and building connections that enriched the internship experience.
Looking to take your research further? 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 the 2026 program launch this fall, so keep an eye on our program page for details. In partnership with the GEM Fellowship, Adobe also continues to support a strong pipeline of future STEM innovators.
