We are a group of graduate students, undergraduates and faculty who aim to increase STEM participation in our high schoolers. This cause means a lot to us! As of 04/13/2023, we have 111 student/post-doc members in our Slack workspace, and 76 members in our mailing list. Below, we show only those organizers and members who have consented to being listed here.

STEM Pals was founded by Tharindu Fernando in 2020.

Leadership

Nicole Gregorio (co-president) (she/her): I am a PhD student in Bioengineering working on responsive hydrogels made out of engineered proteins for therapeutic delivery. In my free time I love cross stitching and exploring nature!
Ariana Frey (co-president) (she/her): I am a PhD student in Bioengineering working on creating vascularized cardiac tissues to help with heart repair after myocardial infarctions. In my free time I enjoy reading, hiking, and traveling.
Al Snow (co-president) (they/them): I’m a 2nd year PhD student in the Physics Education Group at UW. I am currently conducting research that, very broadly, focuses on uplifting the great ideas that students have about physics. Aside from teaching and physics, I also enjoy music, performing, cooking, roller coasters, and hanging out with pets.
Tharindu Fernando (founder, co-president 2020-2023) (he/him): I am a PhD student in physics studying topological effects of quantum materials using theoretical and computational techniques. In my spare time, I try being creative either through digital media or the performing arts!
Sam Tetef (co-president 2021-2023) (she/her): I am a physics PhD student interested in using machine learning to improve analysis of X-ray spectroscopy data. I like running, hiking, and rock climbing.
Grace Song (she/her): I’m a physics PhD student searching for a matter-creating process called neutrinoless double beta decay. Outside of the lab, I love rock climbing, cooking, and crocheting.
Robert Pecoraro (he/him): I’m a Physics PhD student studying how to make proteins which bind to specific DNA sequences at UW’s Institute for Protein Design. I like to play tennis and all varieties of word games.
James Choi (he/him): I am physics PhD student. I am currently studying the mechanism that is responsible for the partition of protein complexes in bacteria. I like taking photos, cooking, and teaching.
Chaman Gupta (he/him): I am pursuing my Ph.D. in making defected colored nano-diamonds, high-powered lasers, laser-cooling materials, and optical trapping. I am a minimalist and I love reading non-fiction books and teaching in my spare time.
Adina Ripin (she/her): I am a graduate student in the physics department with an interest in quantum information, photonics, and outreach.
Charles Cardot (he/him): I’m a 2nd year physics graduate student working on computational x-ray spectroscopy. When I’m not tinkering with code I like to play video games, try new restaurants, and hang out with my cat.

Members

Renee Yeung (she/her): I am a first-year undergraduate student hoping to study Mechanical Engineering and Chinese. Some of my favorite pastimes include reading, playing violin, doing card tricks, and learning languages.
Ivan Chernyshev (he/him): I’m a third-year physics Ph.D. student working simulating nuclear physics on quantum devices. During my free time, I like to go on random adventures, ride my bike, play chess, and read books.
Alex Reynolds (they/she): Undergraduate majoring in Physics: Teaching Preparation and minoring in Education, Learning, and Societies.
Felicia Tsai (she/they): I’m a fourth-year biology and physics undergraduate hoping to go into teaching or evolutionary biology research! In my spare time, I enjoy drawing and piano, competing in Quizbowl, and going down Wikipedia science rabbit holes online.

… without bios:

  • George Fennell
  • Jack Pereira
  • Marc Exposit
  • Sarah Zeitler
  • Andrew Rossi
  • Dmitriy Kim
  • David Bell
  • Jessica Birky
  • Yafei Ren
  • Maleen Kidiwela
  • Martin Soto
  • Vinsensius

Faculty and Staff

Dr. Xiaosong Li: Harry and Catherine Jaynne Boand Endowed Professor of Chemistry; Associate Chair, Graduate Education; Director, Master of Science in Applied Chemical Science & Technology
Danica Hendrickson: Associate Director of Education & Workforce Engagement, UW MEM-C
Dr. Ting Cao: Assistant Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
Dr. Nikolai Tolich: Associate Teaching Professor, Physics
Dr. Jeffrey Carey: I’m a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Microbiology, where I study social interactions and evolution in bacterial biofilms. I’m also a licensed veterinarian, and my hobbies include playing piano, gardening, and drinking coffee.

Past Members

John Franklin Crenshaw: I study cosmology and the expansion of the universe with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Dark Energy Science Collaboration. My research focuses on machine learning and statistical techniques for physical modeling and data analysis. In my free time, I enjoy backpacking, skiing, rock climbing, and board games.
Heather Harrington: I study fundamental symmetries in nuclear and particle physics. I am currently a PhD student looking for chirality flipping in the weak interaction. I spend my free time listening to podcasts, doing pottery, and growing orchids.
STEM Pals

Sponsors and Partners

Felicia Tsai’s Magnetic Monopole Fundraiser
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