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AnnaMarie Bliss is a sixth year PhD Candidate in Architecture with concentrations in Historic Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Perception Studies, Environmental Design, and Tourism. She is also pursuing her architecture license and hopes to become a professor and preservation architect/consultant. Her work concerns the impacts of preservation and restoration of historic architecture on future design and tourism in Barcelona. She is a world traveler, experimental cook, avid runner, and college football fanatic.
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Raghavendra Pradyumna Pothukuchi is a sixth year graduate student pursuing his PhD in Computer Science (CS), focusing on Computer Architecture. His interdisciplinary research draws on Control Theory and Machine Learning to advance the efficiency of computer systems. He shares an equally keen interest in teaching and was selected as a Mavis Future Faculty Fellow (2016-2017) by the College of Engineering. Outside of his academics, he and his wife (also pursuing PhD in CS at U of I ) spend time playing with their one-year old son or cooking or learning classical Indian music, dance, language, texts and philosophy.
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Maryam Khademian is a fifth year graduate student in the department of Microbiology. Her research focuses on oxidative stress and anaerobic respiration. She tries to understand why organisms have so many different enzymes to degrade hydrogen peroxide, using genetic and biochemical approaches. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and discussing books, painting, biking and hiking in Champaign heights.
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Matthew Fiorentino is a second year PhD student in Music Education studying teacher education. Before moving to Illinois, Matthew was an orchestra director in Boise, Idaho. He hopes to work with preservice teachers and is passionate about string education, as well as teacher leadership and issues of social justice. He is an avid trail and mountain runner and enjoys exploring the Midwest in search of a good hill.
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Harsh Banwait is a second year Master of Business Administration candidate. As an aspiring technology professional, he hopes to leverage his business background and engineering knowledge to help companies utilize technology to solve complex problems. His research interests broadly include the economic impact of IoT and Autonomous Vehicles. You can usually spot him running up and down the BIF stairs, at the gym, or talking about why Tesla is the future to any and everyone.
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Josue Lopez is a third year PhD student in the Energy-Water-Environment and Sustainability program in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. His research focuses in understanding the crystal growth mechanisms that underlie the biomineralization phenomena in order to develop sustainable materials inspired by nature. During his free time, Josue enjoys jogging around campus, trying out new restaurants, experimenting with his slow cooker, and catching classic movies at the local theaters. |
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John Musser is a sixth year PhD candidate in the department of English. His research interests include performance studies, queer theory, and 20th century literature and visual culture. He is currently writing a dissertation about the figure of the diva in the long 20th century, and the diva’s evocation of the queer sublime. In this project, John is most interested in the queerness of aesthetic theories and how they inform genealogical conversations about race and sexuality in the 20th century.
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Diana Byrne is a fourth year graduate student pursuing a PhD in Environmental Engineering with an emphasis in Energy-Water-Environment Sustainability. She is most interested in quantitative sustainable design of water infrastructure and hopes to use her education to increase access to and sustainability of water resources around the world. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, volunteering, watching TED talks, and vegetable gardening. |
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Vicky Baraldi is a second year graduate student in the Professional Science Master’s program in Food Science and Human Nutrition. Her passion towards food has motivated her to contribute to the transformation of processed foods into a healthy and affordable option. She enjoys trying new food, running, and yoga.
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Zane Ma is a third year PhD student in Computer Science. His research interests focus on network security and how to identify and repair insecure computer systems, recently focusing on cheap, low power Internet of Things devices. In addition, Zane enjoys teaching and aspires to become a professor. Whenever he's not in front of a computer screen, Zane enjoys all forms of non-digital games, basketball, and hiking in new and remote locations. |
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Sulagna Chakraborty is a second year PhD student in Public Health. Her focus is on Infectious disease Epidemiology and she plans to pursue a career in infectious disease prevention, surveillance, and policy. She loves to travel and experience different cultures and indulge in varied cuisines. She is an amateur poet and a blogger and loves to socialize and form meaningful connections. |
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Halie Rando is a fifth year PhD student in Informatics. Her research focuses on exploring the genetic basis of friendly and aggressive behavior in foxes (using the famous friendly Russian foxes, as well as other populations). In her free time, she enjoys cooking and traveling. |
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Stephanie Schramm is a first year graduate student pursuing a Masters in Environmental Engineering. She is most interested in examining the metabolic properties of microalgae in order to further technological advances in nutrient recovery and biofuel production with algae. She hopes to use to skills she learns at Illinois to develop better bioprocessing techniques for water treatment and energy production systems. Stephanie will take every opportunity she can to travel somewhere new and enjoys reading and rock climbing in her free time. |
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Charlotte Prieu is a second year PhD student in French Linguistics. She aspires to do research on language and race in the French banlieues and more specifically at ‘crossing’, a linguistic phenomenon that consists in code-switching in a language that is not a part of the speaker’s ethnic background. In her free time, she is an advocate for social justice, here on campus as well as in the Champaign-Urbana community. Charlotte is also a visual artist and realized an award winning documentary on sexual assault on campus. |
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Sophia Imtiazi is a second semester graduate student pursuing a Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations. As an aspiring HR professional for a multinational organization, she hopes to gain experience in the various functions of HR in order to contribute strategically to the development of a healthy talent pipeline in concert with business goals and objectives. Outside of class, she enjoys spending time with friends, traveling, and making progress on lists of books/movies/TV shows to dive into.
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Celeste Alexander is a second year graduate student pursuing a PhD in Nutritional Sciences. She hopes to become a professor and study the effects of dietary fat on the gut microbiome and host metabolism as well as teach upper level nutrition and microbiology courses to aspiring scientists. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, swimming, and visiting with family and friends. |
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Reshmina William is a second year PhD student in Civil Engineering, with a concentration in Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering (EHHE). Her research focuses on urban sustainability, and the characterization of green practices to tackle water quality and urban flooding. In her free time, Reshmina volunteers as an ESL instructor with the Wesley Foundation, and sings with the Lesbian/Feminist community chorus Amasong. |
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Mackenzie Neally is a second year Master's student in the College of Education with a concentration on Higher Education. Her research interests revolve around the experiences of racial minorities in educational institutions, primarily Black males and minority populations of student-athletes. Mackenzie is passionate about teaching, working in collegiate athletics, and working on social justice causes. When she is not on campus, Mackenzie enjoys hiking, playing tennis, and spending time with her husband, Justin, and their dog, Rex.
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Rhianna Anglin is entering her 11th year as a Texas public school teacher. She has lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex for the past ten years and attended the University of North Texas in Denton. Currently she works as a teacher in the Richardson Independent School District where she co-teaches the AVID program at Lake Highlands High School. She is a master’s degree candidate in Educational Policy at the University of Illinois, concentrating on equity and diversity in public school policy. |
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Ga Young Chung is a fifth year doctoral student in education policy studies with a minor in Asian American studies. Her dissertation investigates the current US immigration system and its impact on undocumented Korean immigrant youth. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, scuba diving, and exploring with her two chihuahuas, HoSoo and BaaDaa.
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