Biomedical Engineering
ASHRITHA EADARA, M.S. 2019
Please describe any relevant past experience
I was associated with Jacobs Engineering India Pvt. Ltd. (Mumbai) as a Design Engineer in the Piping Department with a total experience of 20 months. In these twenty months, I created the 3D models of two petrochemical plants, one for the training project and another for the client in setting up their plant. The models created were well appreciated by the Manager, immediate supervisors and my team. I also took a pro-active stance to keep a track of the delivery of the work as per schedule. Apart from the projects, I was also highly inspired by the work of the BeyondZero Committee and hence joined the group- a highly enthusiatic team focused on increasing the awareness to ensure safety in the workspace, on-site locations during construction of the plant and also to take it beyond the organisation to our personal lives. I was responsible in organising floor talks every month and also other networking sessions. The concept of Safety also encouraged me to take up the responsibility of a First Aider. To be able to work as a team and coordinate various activities through effective time management and communication, alongside my project work, is one of biggest strengths. It gives me immense pleasure to have worked with an active team of both young and experienced Jacobians. I have also been a part of the Jacobs Future Network, a network of young professionals working towards building and enhancing the relationship among the employers. As a part of BeyondZero collaborating with JFN, I was one of the organisers of the event celebrating the World Anti Tobacco Day to promote a more willing mindset to quit the dangerous habit.
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
"As an incoming MS student in BMEN, I have already been a part of a couple of events hosted by the EGSC team. I personally find these events a gateway to another world away from the tight academic schedule. I want to be a part of the organising team of such events to be a contributing factor in fostering a more interactive diverse student community in the university. I also would like to create more face to face interaction between the aspirants in the field of Biomedical Engineering and the Columbia Alumni, who are not afraid to create their own path of interest and passion, no matter how hard it is. I strongly believe that to get to know more about the the prospects of various options in this field at the student level, gives more insights and helps us align and prepare ourselves to be a part of the ever competetive real world. For me to be able to receive such events from the current EGSC members is very exciting and keeps on watchful of any such upcoming events. I would want to be a part of the team to organise such events which are greatly informative."
Malhar Sakarwala, M.S. 2019
Please describe any relevant past experience
President of Biomedical Engineering Society - Delaware Chapter
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
Given that New York City is making an effort to create its own Biotech hub, I would like to use my platform to make Columbia University an integral part of this transformation. I would like to network on behalf of my department to ensure Columbia Alumni have a thriving environment to work in NYC post graduation.
Brittany Marshall, Ph.D.
Please describe any relevant past experience
I was heavily involved on campus in leadership roles in Undergrad. I served as Vice President of FCA and Secretary of Blue Key Honor Society, as well as the Senior MechE representative on the Student Advisory Board. I started being involved in EGSC at the end of last semester and really enjoyed it. I would love to continue being involved!
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
I would love to help facilitate smooth and efficient communication across SEAS and across the university, to help all of us have a hassle free graduate school experience, as pertains to our concerns about programming, finances , courses, etc. I am pretty organized.. so that's a strength right? All-in-all, I am just eager to play an active role in addressing concerns of our student body, by bringing them to the attention of the appropriate persons, and facilitating continue engagement as we progress as a department and school!
Any other relevant information you would like to share
** Have been known to support any and all happy hours ** .
Nathaniel Schwartz, M.S. 2019
Please describe any relevant past experience
"President, Future Healers of America (Queens College): the pre-health professions club at Queens College, representing nearly 600 students. Arranged speakers from graduate and professional schools to interface with and inform club members about the field and their respective school, and arranged campus tours President, Math Club (Queens College): organized socials, events, and invited speakers."
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
Being part of a community is an important part of our lives. We have many students from all over the world. My goal is to make it easier for students to interact with each other and get to know each other at social events in bars and other event spaces around the city. At an administrative level, I am happy to help maintain records of Council meetings and student organizations. Finally, I enjoy collaborating with other departments and student government bodies, as it gives a broader context to what we do on a University level.
Any other relevant information you would like to share
I'm excited to be part of the Columbia community and would like to contribute in any way I can!
Naveed Tavakol, Ph.D.
Please describe any relevant past experience
Throughout my four years at the University of Virginia, I was heavily involved in our (undergrad) Engineering Student Council: from serving as a general member, committee director, Vice President, and ultimately President. I was very passionate about helping improve our engineering school, from the activities and events we provided for students to the interactions between different members of our engineering community. Throughout my time, I was especially enthusiastic about (1) engaging collaboration between students (both undergraduate and graduate!) and faculty - to help develop this "engineering community" we were aiming for through mixers, optional departmental funding for major specific events, and mixers between different schools; (2) help reinvent our student-taught classes program, where we were able to help undergraduate students design and teach their own courses to their peers; and (3) partner with a few K12 outreach groups in Virginia, notably to bring the Virginia State Science Olympiad tournament to UVa as a host and recruit student volunteers throughout the year. I also helped facilitate relationships between our students, organizations, and the admin, which I felt was an important role especially later in my term.
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
On the academic affairs committee, I feel like I would be able to help bring the thoughts and opinions of my peers (in BME specifically) to help gear some events EGSC and the SEAS admin put on to cater best to our niche. I think some things in particular, like the pre-PhD orientation (Prof. and Leadership Development series), can be better organized (in the future) to hone in on skills more closely necessary for the first few years of each individual major, e.g. BME PhDs have different first years than a lot of other engineering disciplines, etc. In addition, I think it would be appropriate to help organize a database of all the incoming/current students in each department - including both Masters and PhD - to make it a bit easier to meet people within the department towards the beginning of each program...and work with the departmental groups to coordinate some of these early on in the academic year. Especially relevant to PhDs in their later years, I'd love to get involved in framing/hyping up the 3-Min Thesis competition EGSC is starting/has been putting on - obviously I'd have to learn more, but I think there's a lot of potentially in ramping up excitement for events like this. I've had the opportunity to work as a liaison between the students and the administration in the past, and I believe my roles have helped me become better at listening to student concerns and working through the appropriate steps to resolve matters important to the engineering community.
Any other relevant information you would like to share
Fun facts: big fan of Chipotle, Switzerland, and Taylor Swift - you can probably find me bringing up one of the three if you ever meet me in person. Even though I just joined the MS-to-PhD program in the BME Dept. here, I hope to be able to contribute to the engineering community at Columbia as much as I can! :)
Teo Dinescu, Ph.D.
Please describe any relevant past experience
My name is Teo Dinescu and I am a 2nd year PhD student in biomedical engineering. In undergrad, I served as the bioengineering representative for Tau Beta Pi, where I served as the liaison between students and faculty. I planned events to help students with professional development, such as improving their resumes, as well as organized lab tours to help students secure research positions. I spoke with students about issues concerning them and brought these up during the bioengineering town hall meeting with the department chair so that they could be addressed. I also worked as a resident assistant where I developed a positive living environment for a floor of 70 second year students by addressing student needs and conflicts. I collaborated with other RAs to plan events for the residential community and increase awareness of campus resources. After attending many of the EGSC events last year, I want to get more involved this year and believe that my experiences would make me a great candidate for BME department representative.
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
My vision for all the committees is to increase awareness of events and get greater input from the student body. Having each department representative go lab to lab or having coffee hours in a central location so that students could voice their opinions would increase transparency between the department and EGSC. For the alumni and career affairs committee, I would aim to include more biotechnology representatives at the career fair and at networking events so that BME students could learn more about the opportunities available post-graduation. Having a variety of representatives from industry, academia, consulting, and other fields would demonstrate the diverse possibilities and give current students an opportunity to ask them questions one on one. For the interschool committee, I would communicate with the other graduate school student councils to organize both social and professional events to encourage collaborations between the schools. Establishing these connections could encourage students to work on interdisciplinary projects together. For the social committee, I would want to organize events such as museums tours/visits, trips to the zoo, and Top of the Rock visits so that we can explore more of New York City while getting to know our fellow classmates.
Any other relevant information you would like to share
I have gotten to know many of the BME students and faculty during my first year at Columbia and I am really excited to get to know more of you!