Research Opportunities

Each year, the Mack Institute provides fellowships for students and early-career researchers interested in innovation management. This includes a two-year predoctoral program for recent graduates and semester-long research assistantships for current Wharton and Penn students. Occasionally, we have sponsored postdoctoral students. Research Assistantships Through Research Assistantship, current Wharton and Penn students can work closely with our faculty and funded researchers on topics relevant to current innovation challenges. Participants strengthen their analytical, decision-making, and leadership skills while gaining research and practical experience. The Mack Institute offers fellowships for both individuals and teams throughout the academic year. Students interested in participating will take part in an application process. If you are interested in learning about these opportunities as they become available, please subscribe to email updates. Recent Project Topics Include Generative AI and CreativityCommercialization of Healthcare TechnologySupply Chain ManagmentCorporate VenturingInnovation EcosystemsHealth and Performance of Open-Source Software (OSS) CommunitiesElectric and Autonomous Vehicles Mack Predoctoral Fellowship Through our predoctoral program, recent undergraduates receive sponsorship to work closely with Wharton professors on research projects. Fellowships last two years and are based on Wharton’s Philadelphia campus. The program is an excellent choice for students who want to strengthen their academic and research credentials before applying to competitive Ph.D. programs. Applications for predoctoral fellowships are opened as they become available. You can find and apply for any open positions on the Careers at Penn web portal. Current Predoctoral Fellows Angela Fan Angela Fan works with Professors Henning Piezunka and Saerom (Ronnie) Lee. She previously studied behavior economics and behavioral decision-making at Carnegie Mellon University and UCLA Anderson School of Management. Prakhar Saxena Prakhar Saxena is a Predoctoral Research Fellow at the Mack Institute, where he works with Professors Alp Sungu and Neha Sharma in the Operations, Information and Decisions department at Wharton. He works on projects examining the impact of generative AI in education and online communities. He has a broader interest in examining the adoption and effects of generative AI in firms. He received a B.S. in Mathematics and a B.A. in Economics (with a specialization in Data Science) from the University of Chicago. Outside of academia, he enjoys philosophy, hip hop and soccer. Linnea Tix Linnea Tix is working with Professors Emilie Feldman and Paul Nary in the Management Department at Wharton. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Managerial Economics from Union College in New York, where she developed a research project examining the effect of population aging on income inequality in the United States. At Wharton, she supports research on corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions. Former Predoctoral Fellows Christina Tong, Working in industry Hejia (Ellie) Liu, PhD Candidate at UMN Carlson School of Management Xinbo (Steve) Bao, PhD Candidate at USC Danial Syed, Working in industry Yuyang Wang, PhD Candidate at UChicago Shreya Mathur Juan Andrés Russy, PhD Candidate at MIT