2020 Tech Series

Karina is a Maker at heart who is inspired by the power of technology and 3D-printing. She is currently a rising Sophomore at Cornell University's Dyson School of Business where she pursues social entrepreneurship through technology. She has started an innovative 3D-printed clothing line, Wear Alpha, and one of the largest coalitions of Makers to 3D-print PPE for the medical workers on the frontlines of COVID-19.

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Chinmayi Balusu is an student at Columbia University pursuing the life sciences and medical humanities. She is the founder and CEO of Simply Neuroscience, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering students' interdisciplinary interests in the brain. Chinmayi also serves as a Leadership Board member of 500 Women Scientists, a non-profit working to make science open, inclusive, and accessible and support women in STEM. 

Caitlin Stanton is a recent graduate of Cornell University. She's interned at places including Microsoft and Qualcomm, and will be a hardware engineering intern at Lyft Level 5 in their autonomous vehicles division this summer. She's an advocate for diversity in tech through her public speaking and social media initiatives, and thoroughly enjoys opening up all kinds of students to the power of technology.

Izzy Lapidus is a 17-year-old advocate, entrepreneur, researcher, and writer from Brooklyn, New York. Izzy is the co-founder and CEO of First Empower. She conducts astrophysics research under a postdoctoral astrophysics fellow at the American Museum of Natural History on brown dwarf binaries. Izzy is also a writer for Girl Genius Magazine, where she writes articles on her STEM projects. 

I am a rising junior at the University of Michigan double majoring in Physics and Astronomy. Research has been an important part of my time in college, and I have experience in both earth science and astronomy. I am working on methods to use survey data to search for and validate potentially new Trans-Neptunian Objects located at the edge of the solar system. I will be serving as Advocacy Chair for the Society of Physics Students at U of M.

I am a senior at the University of Michigan majoring in physics and mathematics. I serve as President of the University of Michigan Society of Physics Students. I have conducted research for two years with the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the first group to observe gravitational waves from merging black holes. I am currently an intern in the NASA Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory.

Marisa is 18 and a rising college freshman from Grand Prairie, Texas. She is attending the University of Texas at Arlington in the fall and is majoring in computer engineering. Marisa is currently a Texas Regional Leader for the nonprofit organization Supergirls Code, a three time Kode With Klossy scholar, and a volunteer reporter for the storytelling platform Channel Kindness. 

Savitha Srinivasan is an incoming freshman at Stanford University. She worked on developing machine learning techniques to improve cancer blockade therapy at the Harvard Medical School . She is a 2020 Coca-Cola Scholar, 2020 Regeneron STS Scholar, and Intel ISEF 2nd Place winner. She is the Founder & President of Art You (@artyou2015), a 501(c)3 global non profit, and She Codes Art (@shecodesart).

Snehaa Ganesh Kumar is a rising freshman at UC Berkeley. She was the runner-up of the 2016 Scripps National Bee, and has competed in the National Astrophysics Olympiad and National Brain Bee. She combined her passion for academic competitions and the community that came with it, along with her experience as a woman in a male-dominated field, to found the Queen Bee Project – an award winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit!

Nada Jaradat is undergraduate studying biochemistry at U-M. She currently serves as the co-administrative director of U-MYScI. She Working with young students is a huge passion of her, and combing it with science is the perfect mix. U-MyScI has been a great experience in these past few years and she is excited for this year’s camp! Other things, she enjoys besides science are volleyball, running and simply sitting in the sun.

Jonathan Gurkan graduated in May, 2020 from U-M with a degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology. He is currently in his second term as co-curriculum director of U-MYScI. Through U-MYScI, he hopes to be able to help curate a fun and engaging curriculum that will help expose students to a variety of aspects in science.

My name is Katie Grant and I am a senior at Michigan State University studying civil engineering! I am from Chicago, IL, and ever since a young age have love architecture, which led to my passion for civil engineering work. I am on the E-board for American Society of Civil engineers (ASCE) at MSU, a member of Chi Epsilon, a leader in my sorority, Sigma Delta Tau, and work with Women In Engineering through K- 12 outreach.

Marissa is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan. She was very involved in the Engineering Honors Program as a peer advisor and member of the Honors Student Advisory Board. She had the opportunity for several experiences abroad through the University - teaching biology and tutoring on a service learning trip in Malawi, doing research in Germany, and co-leading an Honors global outreach trip to Guatemala. 

Ashley  has worked for a law firm, conducted public health research at the University of Michigan and oncology research at Cornell, led a 7,500 student member organization, and founded a nonprofit dedicated to providing music education in low income neighborhoods. Accepted by 5 Ivy League schools among others, she will major in Economics at Princeton this fall.
 

Over the last 2 years Vibha has earned distinction in numerous national math competitions, led a chapter of a nonprofit organization making education more accessible to local Detroit students, and participated in research studies promoting HPV awareness in Michigan. Vibha is a National Merit Finalist. She will be attending University of Pennsylvania in the Fall.

Mary, an incoming freshman at Brown University, is furthering her passion for education with InReach! She's no stranger to tutoring or the college admission process. The previous year, she guided fellow students to discovering their academic interests, found summer programs to enrich younger minds, and tutored students in her town in math, English, and music.

Patented inventor, Dr. Arlyne Simon, is a biomedical engineer and author of a children’s book series called Abby Invents. Arlyne invented a blood test that detects when cancer patients reject bone marrow transplants. She holds a Ph.D. in macromolecular science and engineering from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in chemical & biomolecular engineering from Georgia Tech.

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