NCSA Awards 2025 Fiddler Innovation Fellowship

Mahima Goel, a Carle Illinois College of Medicine student, was awarded the 2025 Fiddler Innovation Fellowship by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at a ceremony with the Technology Entrepreneur Center on April 17.

The $10,000 fellowship is part of a $2 million endowment from Jerry Fiddler and Melissa Alden to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to support the Emerging Digital Research and Education in Arts Media Institute. Based at NCSA, the eDream Institute awards exceptional, creative, and interdisciplinary students and faculty who propose significant projects that address cultural and global challenges using art, science and technology.

Goel and her team of student researchers and faculty members from the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering (MechSE) at The Grainger College of Engineering and Carle Health are developing an innovative and accessible scalp-cooling system to help prevent hair loss in cancer patients who are receiving chemotherapy. Goel said existing systems were “too expensive, too bulky, and not user-friendly,” so the team went to work on a smaller, portable prototype called CAPSLocks that is half the size and significantly cheaper than current models.

It is such an incredible honor to be selected as the recipient of the 2025 Fiddler Innovation Fellowship. This award will directly impact the progress of the CAPSLocks project as our interdisciplinary team – comprised of oncologists, medical students and University of Illinois MechSE faculty and students – hopes to apply the funds towards furthering prototype development and continuing to test for optimal safety and efficacy parameters so that we can make scalp cooling an accessible reality for all cancer patients. This award is a testament to the truly global impact of combining engineering with medicine and another step in the fight towards increasing funding and awareness around cancer supportive care.

Mahima Goel, 2025 Fiddler Innovation Fellowship awardee

Patients can take CAPSLocks on the go, allowing them to continue the scalp-cooling process after the chemotherapy infusions without needing to remain in the hospital setting.

“We often overlook the adverse side effects of therapies. What is uniquely inspiring about Mahima’s goal is that she’s improving the lives of those in her care with a singular, yet innovative approach, and giving them an additional boost in their fight against cancer,” said NCSA Director Bill Gropp. “NCSA is proud to support her effort with the Fiddler Innovation Fellowship, and we are very appreciative of Jerry Fiddler and Melissa Alden’s continued support of the Fiddler Innovation Endowment.”

“Mahima is an innovator who leads an interdisciplinary effort to address hair loss during cancer treatment. She and her student-led team have developed a portable, easy-to-operate and affordable scalp-cooling system,” said NCSA Senior Research Coordinator Olena Kindratenko. “She provided a plan on how the Fiddler Innovation Fellowship would help advance the ongoing effort and extend prototype development and safety testing for an additional year, with a goal to reduce the cost by 15%.”

Check out the announcement from TEC and the Grainger College of Engineering for more on a full slate of student awards.

ABOUT NCSA

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides supercomputing, expertise and advanced digital resources for the nation’s science enterprise. At NCSA, University of Illinois faculty, staff, students and collaborators from around the globe use innovative resources to address research challenges for the benefit of science and society. NCSA has been assisting many of the world’s industry giants for over 35 years by bringing industry, researchers and students together to solve grand challenges at rapid speed and scale.