Get to Know the Fischell Institute Community Member: Aaron Adepetu

Introduction
Aaron Adepetu is a high school senior from Bowie, Md. enrolled in the Prince George’s County Public School Science and Technology Program. Through the program, Adepetu was offered an internship with Joel Bannerman, Fischell Institute and MPower Entrepreneurship Fellow. Adepetu’s role focuses on collecting and analyzing data to evaluate the accuracy of the BreathAssist prototype through lung simulations.

Outside of his internship, Adepetu is an active member of the National Society of Black Engineers Jr. chapter and the National Honor Society at his high school. He also serves as president of his school's esports team and captain of the debate team. Adepetu aspires to become a physician and plans to pursue biomedical engineering on a pre-med track.

1. What sparked your interest in STEM?

"I've always been curious and found myself asking endless questions, ranging from fundamental concepts to more specific topics. My interest in engineering began when I entered the Science and Technology Program in high school. One of my first courses was Engineering Foundations, where I extensively used Onshape CAD software. Through that experience, I discovered how much I enjoyed designing things and realized that engineering was something I wanted to pursue."

2. What inspired you to become involved in the BreathAssist project?

"As a student in my school's Science and Technology Program, I actively sought opportunities related to my interests.

"I first met Joel Bannerman during a University of Maryland open house tour, where I learned about the BreathAssist project. I was captivated by the project's potential impact and the team's ambition to commercialize a unique medical device."

3. Tell us about your role in the BreathAssist project and what you hope to learn through this experience.

"My primary responsibilities involve data collection and analysis. I'll be performing lung simulations and comparing measurements from a ServoLung ventilation device with the tidal volumes measured by the BreathAssist prototype to evaluate the device’s accuracy.

"I'm hoping to learn more about circuitry, which I've discovered plays an important role in medical device design and development. I want to continue building my data collection skills and gain a better understanding of how medical devices are created."

4. What are you most excited about while working with Joel Bannerman?

"I'm most excited about contributing to an innovative project that could result in the creation of a medical device. Being able to say that I played a role in its development would be a considerable achievement, and I hope this experience will lead to future opportunities.

5. What are your future educational and career goals, and how do you hope this internship will help you achieve them?

"I aspire to become a physician one day. I plan to major in bioengineering or biomedical engineering while pursuing a pre-med track. Through this internship, I hope to gain valuable experience in engineering and medical device development that will help prepare me for my future studies and career."

Published November 12, 2026